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SUOAK LOAF OK rVRAMID ROCK. 



Old jiND I(ew MjicKip: 



COPIOUS EXTRACTS 



Marquette, Hennepin, La Hontan, Alexander Henry, 



AND OTHERS. 



" Beauteous Isle ! I sing of thee, 
Mackinac, my Mackinac ; 
Thy lake-bound shores I love to see, 
Mackinac, my Mackinac. 
From Arch Rock's height and shelving steep 
To western cliffs and Lover's Leap, 
Where memories of the lost one sleep, 
Mackinac, my Mackinac. 

Thy northern shore trod British foe, 

Mackinac, my Mackinac ; 

That day sawr gallant Holmes laid low, 

Mackinac, my Mackinac. 

Now Freedom's flag above thee waves. 

And guards the rest of fallen braves. 

Their requiem sung by Huron's waves, 

Mackinac, my Mackinac." 



By key. J. A. VAN FLEET, M.A. 



-^^ THIRD EDITION. ^•«- 



GRAND RAPIDS, MICH : 

PRINTED AT "THE LEVER " BOOK AND JOB OFFICE. 
1 880. 



•n\\an!3^ 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the Year 1874, 

BY J. A. VAN FLEET, 
In the Office of tlie Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



lf^l?l(a^ 



V. 



I 



Preface. 



N the preparation of this little volume, I have carefully exam- 
ined the following works : Holmes's American Annals, two 
volumes ; Robertson's History of America ; Bancroft's United States; 
Bell's Canada, two volumes ; Albach's Annals of the West ; Lahn- 
/f man's Michigan ; Sheldon's Early Michigan ; Historical and Scien- 

tific Sketches of Michigan ; Neill's Minnesota ; Smith's Wisconsin, 
three volumes ; Wynne's General History of the British Empire ; 
Rogers's Concise Account of North America ; Dillon's Early Settle- 
ment of the North-western Territory; Heriot's Canada; Parkman's 
Pontiac ; Parkman's Discovery of the Great West ; Schoolcraft's 
Works, complete ; Documentary History of New York, complete ; 
Palmer's Historical Register, 1814; Shea's Discovery and Explo- 
ration of the Mississippi ; also. Shea's Catholic Missions ; Henne- 
^ pin ; La Hontan, two volumes ; Charlevoix, two volumes ; Alexander 

Henry; Carver; Disturnell ; Newcomb's Cyclopaedia of Missions; 
American Missions to the Heathen; Geological Reports by Foster 
and Whitney, and by Professor Winchell ; Thatcher's Indian Biog- 
raphy, two volumes; Strickland's Old Mackinaw; Drake's North- 
ern Lakes and Southern Invalids ; also. Diseases of the Mississippi 
Valley, by the same author. 

I am also greatly indebted to Messrs. Ambrose and William 
Davenport, for a detailed account of the War of 181 2 in its con- 
nection with this island. These gentlemen were boys of from 
twelve to fifteen years of age at the time, and were eye-witnesses 



4 PREFACE. 

of all that passed. Their account agrees, in every important partic- 
ular, with the official returns of Commodore Sinclair and Colonel 
Croghan; but is, of course, much more minute. 

Several other citizens of tlie place have likewise rendered val- 
uable assistance in matters falling within the scope of their recol- 
lection. I also desire to acknowledge my obligation to Edgar 
Conkling, Esq., of Mackinac City, for valuable notes and sugges- 
tions, and to H. R. Mills, M. D., of Fort Mackinac, and Rev. 
J. M. Arnold, of Detroit, for assistance in getting the work through 
the press. 

This book has been prepared to meet a want long felt and often 

expressed by the many who throng this island in cjuest of health 

or pleasure during the Summer. That it may accomplish this end, 

is the earnest wish of the author. 

J. A. V. 

Mackinac, July 4, 1870. 




CHAPTER I. 



JESUIT HISTORY. 



THE first pale-faces who ventured into the region stretching 
around the great lakes, were Jesuit missionaries. Of these, 
the first who chiim a notice here are tlie Fathers Charles 
Raymbault and Isaac Jogues. In 1641, these two men visited 
the Chippewas at the Sault, and established a mission among 
them ; but Raymbault soon after fell a victim to consumption, 
and the enterprise was abandoned. Desperate Indian wars, 
which soon followed, prevented any further attempt to establish 



OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



missions among the Indians around the lakes for nearly thirty 
years. 

In the Spring of 1668, the illustrious Father James Mar- 
quette was ordered to repair to the Ottawa Mission, as that 
around Lake Superior was then called. Arriving at the Sault, 
he planted his cabin at the foot of the rapids, on the American 
side, and began his work. In the following year he was joined 
by Father Dablon, Superior of the mission, and by their united 
exertions a church was soon built. This was the first permanent 
settlement made on the soil of Michigan. 

During that same year, Marquette repaired to Lapointe, near 
the western extremity of Lake Superior, leaving Dablon to con- 
tinue the mission at the Sault. When he arrived at his new field 
of labor, he found several Indian villages, one of which was 
composed of Hurons, who, several years before, had dwelt, for 
a short time, on Mackinac Island. 

Previous to leaving the Sault, Marquette had heard vague 
reports of the " Great River," and had formed the design of one 
day exploring it, and preaching the gospel to those far-off nations 
who dwelt upon its banks. That he might carry out this design, 
he obtained, while at Lapointe, an Illinois captive, and dili- 
gently studied the language, hoping that he would be permitted 
to visit that people in the following Fall. But in this he was 
doomed to disappointment. A war which broke out between 
the Sioux and the Hurons and Ottawas, compelled the two last 
mentioned tribes to leave Lapointe and seek a new home. 
Marquette's lot was cast with the Hurons, who embarked in 
their frail canoes, descended the rapids of St. Mary's, and "re- 
membering the rich fisheries of Mackinac, resolved to return to 
that pebbly strand." Having fixed upon a place of abode, the 
missionary's first thought was the establishment of a mission for 
the spiritual good of his savage followers. While making the 
necessary preparations for the erection of a chapel and the per- 
manent founding of his colony, he dwelt on this island. 

The following extract is from a letter written by Marquette 
in 1671, and published in the Relations des jfesuiis of that year: 



JESUIT HISTORY. 



" Michilimackinac is an island famous in these regions, of 
more than a league in diameter, and elevated in some places by 
such high cliffs as to be seen more than twelve leagues off. It 
is situated just in the strait forming the communication between 
Lake Huron and Illinois (Michigan). It is the key and, as it 
were, the gate for all the tribes from the south, as the Sault is 
for those of the north, there being in this section of country 
only those two passages by water; for a great number of nations 
have to go by one or other of these channels, in order to reach 
.the French settlements. 

" This presents a peculiarly favorable opportunity, both for 
instructing those who pass here, and also for obtaining easy 
access and conveyance to their places of abode. 

" This place is the most noted in these regions for the 
abundance of its fishes ; for, according to the Indian saying, 
'this is the home of the fishes.' Elsewhere, although they exist 
in large numbers, it is not properly their 'home,' which is in the 
neighborhood of Michilimackinac. 

" In fact, besides the. fish common to all the other tribes, as 
the herring, carp, pike, gold-fish, white-fish, and sturgeon, there 
are found three varieties of the trout, — one common ; the second 
of a larger size, three feet long and one foot thick ; the third 
monstrous, for we can not otherwise describe it, it being so fat 
that the Indians, who have a peculiar relish for fats, can scarcely 
eat it. Besides, the supply is such that a single Indian will 
take forty or fifty of them through the ice, with a single spear, 
in three hours. 

" It is this attraction which has heretofore drawn to a point 
so advantageous the greater part of the savages in this country, 
driven away by fear of the Iroquois. The three tribes at pres- 
ent living on the Baydes Fuants (Green Bay) as strangers, for- 
merly dwelt on the main-land near the middle of this island — 
some on the borders of Lake Illinois, others on the borders of 
Lake Huron. A part of them, called Sniiteurs, had their abode 
on the main-land at the west, and the others looked upon this 
place as their country for passing the Winter, when there are no 



O OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 

fish at the Sault. The Huions, called Etononfathronnons, have 
lived for some years in the same island, to escape the Iroquois. 
Four villages of Otlawas had also their abode in this quarter. 

" It is wortiiy of notice that those who bore the name of the 
island, and called themselves Michilimackinac, were so numer- 
ous that some of the survivors yet living here assure us that 
they once had thirty villages, all inclosed in a fortification of a 
league and a half in circuit, when tiie Iroquois came and de- 
feated iheni, infiated by a victory they had gained over three 
thousand men of that nation, who had carried their hostilities as 
far as the country of the Ag/tic/iron/ions. 

"In one word, the quantity of fish, united with the excel- 
lence of the soil for Indian corn, has always been a powerful 
attraction to the tribes in these regions, of which the greater 
part subsist only on fish, but some on Indian corn. On this 
account, many of these same tribes, perceiving that the peace 
is likely to be established with the Iroquois, have turned their 
attention to this point, so convenient for a return to their own 
country, and will follow the examples of those who have made 
a beginning on the islands of Lake Huron, which by this means 
will soon be peopled from one end to the other, an event highly 
desirable to facilitate the instruction of the Indian race, whom it 
would not be necessary to seek by journeys of two or three 
hundred leagues on these great lakes, with inconceivable danger 
and hardship. 

" In order to aid the execution of the design, signified to us by 
many of the savages, of taking up their abode at this point, 
where some have already passed the Winter, hunting in the neigh- 
borhood, we ourselves have also wintered here, in order to make 
arrangements for establishing the Mission of St. Jgnace, from 
whence it will be easy to have access to all the Indians of Lake 
Huron, when the several tribes shall have settled each on its 
own lands. 

"With these advantages, the place has also its inconven- 
iences, particularly for the French, who are not yet familiar, as 
are the savages, with the different kinds of fishery, in which 



JESUIT HISTORY. 



the latter are trained from their birth ; the winds and the tides 
occasion no small embarrassment to the fishermen. 

"The winds: For this is the central point between the 
three great lakes which surround it, and which seem inces- 
santly tossing ball at each other. For no sooner has the wind 
ceased blowing from Lake Michigan than Lake Huron hurls 
back the gale it has received, and Lake Superior in its turn 
sends fortii its blasts from another quarter, and thus the game 
is played from one to the other ; and as these lakes are of vast 
extent, the winds can not be otherwise than boisterous, espe- 
cially during the Autumn." 

From this letter we conclude that Marquette must have 
come to Michilimackinac in 1670, as he spent a Winter here 
before the establishment of his mission. Point Iroquois, on 
the north side of the straits, was selected as the most suitable 
place for the proposed mission, and there, in 1671, a rude and 
unshapely chapel, its sides of logs and its roof of bark, was 
raised as " the first sylvan shrine of Catholicity" at Mackinac. 
This primitive temple was as simple as the faith taught by the 
devoted missionary, and had nothing to impress the senses, 
nothing to win by a dazzling exterior, the wayward children of 
the forest. The new mission was called St. Ignatius, in honor 
of the founder of the Jesuit order, and to this day the name is 
perpetuated in the point upon which the mission stood. 

During the Summer of 167 1, an event occurred of no com- 
mon interest and importance in the annals of French history 
in America, but which, after all, was not destined to exert any 
lasting influence. Mutual interests had long conspired to unite 
the Algonquins of the west and the French in confirmed 
friendship. The Algonquins desired commerce and protection ; 
the French, while they coveted the rich furs which these tribes 
brought them, coveted also an extension of political power to 
the utmost limits of the western wilderness. Hence, Nicholas 
Perrot had been commissioned as the agent of the French Gov^ 
ernment, to call a general Congress of the lake tribes at the 
Falls of St. Mary. The invitations of this enthusiastic agent 



lO OLD AND NEW MACKINAC, 



of the Bourbon dynasty reacned the tribes of Lake Superior, 
and were carried even to the wandering hordes of the remotest 
north. Nor were the nations of the south neglected. Obtain- 
ing an escort of Potawatomies at Green Bay, Perrot, the first 
of Europeans to visit that place, repaired to the Miamis at 
Chicago, on the same mission of friendshi . 

In May, the day appointed for the unwonted spectacle of 
the Congress of Nations arrived. St. Lusson was the French 
official, and Allouez his interpreter. From the head-waters of 
the St. Lawrence, from the Mississippi, from the Great Lakes, 
and even from the Red River, envoys of the wild republicans 
of the wilderness were present. And brilliantly clad officers 
from the veteran armies of France, with here and there a 
Jesuit missionary, completed the vast assembly. A cross was 
set up, a cedar post marked with the French lilies, and the 
representatives of the wilderness tribes were informed that they 
were under the protection of the French king. Thus, in the 
presence of the ancient races of America, were the authority 
and the faith of France uplifted in the very heart of our con- 
tinent. But the Congress proved only an echo, soon to die 
away, and left no abiding monument to mark its glory. 

Marquette has left no details of his first year's labor in his 
new mission ; but during the second year he wrote the following 
letter to Father Dablon. This letter has been published from 
the manuscript, by John G. Shea, in his " Discovery and Ex- 
ploration of the Mississippi," and to him we are indebted 
for it : 

" Rev. Father, — The Hurons, called Tionnontateronnons, 
or Petun Nation, who compose the Mission of St. Ignatius 
at Michilimackinong, began last year near the chapel a fort 
inclosing all their cabins. They have come regularly to prayers, 
and have listened more readily to the instructions I gave 
them, consenting to what I required to prevent their disorders 
and abominable customs. We must have patience with un- 
tutored minds, who know only the devil, who, like their ances- 
tors, have been his slaves, and who often relapse into the sins 



JESUIT HISTORY. H 



in which they were nurtured. God alone can fix these fickle 
minds, and place and keep them in his grace, and touch their 
hearts while we stammer at their ears. 

"The Tionnontateronnons number this year three hundred 
and eighty souls, and besides sixty Outaouasinagaux have joined 
them. Some of these came fiom the Mission of St. Francis 
Xavier, where Father Andre wintered with them last year. They 
are quite changed from what I saw them at Lapointe. The zeal 
and patience of that missionary have gained to the faith those 
hearts which seemed to us most averse to it. They now wish to 
be Christians ; they bring their children to the chapel to be 
baptized, and come regularly to prayers. 

" Having been obliged to go to St. Marie du Sault with 
Father Allouez last Summer, the Hurons came to the chapel 
during my absence as regularly as if I had been there, the girls 
singing what prayers they knew. Tiiey counted the days of my 
absence, and constantly asked when I was to be back. I was 
absent only fourteen days, and on my arrival all assembled at 
chapel, some coming even from their fields, which are at a very 
considerable distance, 

" I went readily to their pumpkin-feast, where I instructed 
them, and invited them to thank God, who gave them food in 
plenty, while other tribes that had not yet embraced Christianity 
were actually struggling with famine. I ridiculed dreams, and 
urged those who had been baptized to acknowledge Him whose 
adopted children they were. Those who gave the feast, though 
still idolaters, spoke in high terms of Christianity, and openly 
made the sign of the cross before all present. Some young men, 
whom they had tried by ridicule to prevent from doing it, per- 
severed, and make the sign of the cross in the greatest assemblies, 
even when I am not present. 

" An Indian of distinction among the Hurons, having in- 
vited me to a feast where the chiefs were, called them severally 
by name, and told them that he wished to declare his thoughts, 
that all might know it, namely, that he was a Christian ; that 
he renounced the god of dreams and all their lewd dances ; 



12 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



that the black-gown was master of his cabin ; and that for 
nothing that might happen would he forsake his resolution. 
Delighted to hear this, I spoke more strongly than I had evei 
yet done, telling them that my only design was to put them in 
the way of heaven ; that for this alone I remained among them ; 
that this obliged me to assist them at the peril of my life. As 
soon as any thing is said in an assembly, it is immediately 
divulged through all the cabins, as I saw in this case by the 
assiduity of some in coming to prayers, and by the malicious 
efforts of others to neutralize my instructions. 

"Severe as the Winter is, it does not prevent the Indians 
from coming to the chapel. Some come twice a day, be the 
wind or cold what it may. Last Fall I began to instruct some 
to make general confessions of their whole life, and to prepare 
others who had never confessed since their baptism. I would 
not have supposed that Indians could have given so exact an 
account of all that had happened in the course of their life ; 
but it was seriously done, as some took two weeks to examine 
themselves. Since then I have perceived a marked change ; so 
that they will not go even to ordinary feasts without asking my 
permission. 

" I have this j'ear baptized twenty-eight children, one of 
which had been brought from Ste. Marie du Sault, without 
having received that sacrament, as the Rev. F. Henry Nouvel 
informed me, to put me on my guard. Without my knowing 
it, the child fell sick ; but God permitted that, while instructing 
in my cabin two important and sensible Indians, one asked me 
whether such a sick child was baptized. I went at once, bap- 
tized it, and it died the next night. Some of the other children, 
too, are dead, and now in heaven. These are the consolations 
which God sends us, which make us esteem our life more happy 
as it is more wretched. 

" This, Father, is all I have to give about this mission, 
where minds are now more mild, tractable, and better disposed 
to receive instruction, than in any other part. I am ready, 
however, to leave it in the hands of another missionary to go 



JESUIT HISTORY. 13 



on your order to seek new nations toward the South Sea who 
are still unknown to us, and to teach them of our great God, 
whom they have hitherto unknown." 

While Marquette was thus engaged in the labors of his 
mission, his project for discovering and exploring the Mississippi 
had attracted the attention of the French Government, and 
through the influence of M. Talon, the intendant, a resolution 
had been formed to act in the matter at once. It is worthy of 
remark that the French, supposing that the Mississippi might 
empty into the Gulf of California, hoped, in discovering that 
river, to find also a short passage across the continent to China. 
Having once formed the resolution to go in search of the Great 
River, they were not long in making all needful preparation for 
putting it into execution. 

Sieur Joliet was designated as the agent of the French Gov- 
ernment to carry out the design, and Marquette was to accom- 
pany him. But little is known of Joliet except in his connection 
with this one enterprise, which alone is sufficient to immortalize 
his name. The following extract is taken from Shea's "Dis- 
covery and Exploration of the Mississippi Valley." It is from 
the pen of Father Dablon, and will give sufficient information 
concerning him to serve the present purpose : 

"They were not mistaken in their choice of the Sieur Joliet; 
for he was a young man born in this country, and endowed 
with every quality that could be desired in such an enterprise. 
He possessed experience, and a knowledge of the languages of 
the Ottawa country, where he had spent several years ; he had 
the tact and prudence so necessary for the success of a voyage 
equally dangerous and difficult ; and, lastly, he had courage to 
fear nothing where all is to be feared. He accordingly fulfilled 
the expectations entertained of him ; and if, after having passed 
through dangers of a thousand kinds, he had not unfortunately 
been wrecked in the very harbor — his canoe having upset below 
the Sault St. Louis, near Montreal, where he lost his men and 
papers, and only escaped, by a kind of miracle, with his life — 
tae success of his voyage had left nothing to be desired." 



14 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



When the Ottawa flotilla of 1672 brought back from Quebec 
the news that his long-cherished desire was about to begratified, 
Marquette exulted at the prospect before him. It involved 
danger and hardship; the way was blocked up by hostile Indian 
tribes, and his health was already impaired by the trials and 
privations which had fallen to his lot, but no consideration of 
personal safety could deter him from his purpose. It even 
gloried in the prospect of martpdom. 

Joliet, at length, arrived at the mission, and together they 
spent the Winter in making the necessary arrangements for the 
voyage. The following quotation is from Marquette's own nar- 
rative, as published by Shea : 

"The day of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed 
Virgin, whom I had always invoked since I have been in this 
Ottawa country, to obtain of God the grace to be able to visit 
the nations on the river Mississippi, was identically that on 
which M. Joliet arrived with orders of the Comte de Frontenac, 
our governor, and M. Talon, our intendant, to make this dis- 
covery with me. I was the more enraptured at this good news, 
as I saw my designs on the point of being accomplished, and 
myself in the happy necessity of exposing my life for the salva- 
tion of all these nations, and particularly for the Illinois, who 
had, when I was at Lapointe du St. Esprit, very earnestly en- 
treated me to carry the word of God to their country. 

" We were not long in preparing our outfit, although we were 
embarking on a voyage the duration of which we could not 
foresee. Indian corn, with some dried meat, was our whole 
stock of provisions. With this, we set out in two bark canoes — 
M. Joliet, myself, and five men — firmly resolved to do all and 
suffer all for so glorious an enterprise. 

"It was on the 17th of May, 1673, ^^^^^ we started from the 
Mission of St. Ignatius, at Michilimackinac, where I then was. 
Our joy at being chosen for this expedition roused our courage, 
and sweetened the labor of rowing from morning till night. As 
we were going to seek unknown countries, we took all possible 
precautions, that, if our enterprise was hazardous, it should not 



JESUIT HISTORY. 1 5 



be foolhardly. For this reason we gathered all possible infor- 
mation from Indians who had frequented those parts, and even 
from their accounts traced a map of all the new country, marking 
down the rivers on which we were to sail, the names of the 
nations and places through which we were to pass, the course 
of the Great River, and what direction we should take when we 
got to it. 

" Above all, I put our voyage under the protection of the 
Blessed Virgin Immaculate, promising her, that if she did us 
the grace to discover the Great River, I would give it the name 
of Conception ; and that I would also give that name to the first 
mission which I should establish among these new nations, as I 
have actually done among the Illinois. 

"With all these precautions, we made our paddles play 
merrily over a part of Lake Huron, and that of the Illinois, 
into the Bay of the Fetid (Green Bay). The first nation that we 
met was that of the Wild Oats (P2ngiish, wild rice). I entered 
their river (Menomonie) to visit them, as we have preached the 
gospel to these tribes for some years past, so that there are 
many good Christians among them. 

" I informed these people of the Wild Oats of my design of 
going to discover distant nations to instruct them in the mys- 
teries of our holy religion ; they were very much surprised, 
and did their best to dissuade me. They told me that I would 
meet nations that never spare strangers, but tomahawk them 
without any provocation ; that the war which had broken out 
among various nations on our route, exposed us to another evi- 
dent danger — that of being killed by the war-parties which are 
constantly in the field ; that the Great River is very dangerous, 
unless the difficult parts are known ; that it was full of frightful 
monsters, who swallowed up men and canoes together ; that 
there is even a demon there who can be heard from afar, who 
stops the passage and ingulfs all who dare approach ; lastly, 
that the heat is so excessive in those countries that it would 
infallibly cause our death. 

" I thanked them for their kind advice, but assured them 



l6 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



that I could not follow it, as the salvation of souls was con- 
cerned ; that for them I should be too happy to lay down my life ; 
that I made light of their pretended demon ; that we would 
defend ourselves well enough against the river-monsters ; and, 
besides, we should be on our guard to avoid the other dangers 
with which they threatened us." 

Space will not permit us to describe the journey of the 
adventurers in detail. We can only say that they proceeded to 
the head of Green Bay, entered Fox River, which they ascended 
to the portage, crossed over to the Wisconsin, and on the 17th 
day of June, feeling a joy that could not be expressed, entered 
the Mississippi. From the Wisconsin they descended to the 
Arkansas, whence they returned, satisfied that the Father of 
Rivers went not to the ocean east of Florida, nor yet to the 
Gulf of California. Arriving at the mouth of the Illinois, they 
entered that river, by which route they reached Lake Michigan 
at Chicago, and, coasting along the western shore of that lake, 
arrived at Green Bay before the end of September. 

Here Joliet took his leave of Marquette, and returned to 
Quebec ; while Marquette remained at the mission to recruit his 
failing health before again entering upon his missionary labors. 
On his return, he had promised a tribe of the Illinois Indians 
that he would soon establish a mission among them, and this 
fact he doubtless communicated to his superiors at Montreal by 
the Ottawa flotilla of the following year. The return of the 
fleet of canoes brought him the necessary order ; and on the 
25th of October, 1674, he set out to establish his long-projected 
Illinois Mission. His former malady — dysentery — however, re- 
turned, and he was compelled, with his two companions, to 
winter on the Chicago River. In the Spring of 1675 he was 
able to complete his journey, and begin his mission ; but a re- 
newed and more vigorous attack of disease soon satisfied him 
that his labors on earth were nearly done. He could not die, 
however, without again visiting his beloved mission at Mackinac, 
and bowing in the chapel of St. Ignatius. He therefore set out, 
hoping that his failing strength would permit him to accomplish 



JESUIT HISTORY. J 7 



the journey. As he coasted along the eastern shore of Lake 
Michigan, his strength gradually failed, and he was at last so 
weak that he could no longer help liimself, but had to be lifted 
in and out of his canoe when they landed each night. At last, 
perceiving the mouth of a river, lie pointed to an eminence near 
byi and told his companions that it was the place of his last 
repose. They wished, however, to pass on, as the weather was 
fine and the day not far advanced; but a wind soon arose which 
compelled them to return and enter the river pointed out by the 
dying missionarj'. They carried him ashore, erected a little 
bark cabin, kindled a fire, and made him as comfortable as they 
could. Having heard the confessions of his companions, and 
encouraged them to rely with confidence on the protection of 
God, Marquette now sent them away, to take the repose they so 
much needed. 

Two or three hours afterward, he felt his end approaching, 
and summoned his companions to his side. Taking his crucifix 
from around his neck, and placing it in their hands, he pro- 
nounced, in a firm voice, his profession of faith, and thanked the 
Almighty for the favor of permitting him to die a Jesuit, a 
missionarv, and alone. Then, his face all radiant with joy, 
and his eyes raised, as if in ecstasy, above his crucifix, with the 
words "Jesus" and "Mary" upon his lips, he passed from the 
scene of his labors to his rest in heaven. After the first out- 
bursts of grief were over, his companions arranged his body for 
burial, and, to the sound of his little chapel bell, bore it slowly 
to the spot which he himself had designated, where they com- 
mitted it to the earth, raising a large cross to mark his last 
resting-place. This occurred on the i8th day of May, 1675, in 
the thirty-eighth year of his age. 

Two years later, and almost on the anniversary of this event, 
a party of Indians whom Marquette had himself instructed at 
Lapointe, visited his grave, on their return from their Winter 
hunting-grounds, and resolved to disinter their good father, and 
bear his revered bones to the Mission of St. Ignatius, at Mack 
inac, where they resided. They therefore opened the grave, 

2 



l8 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



and, according to custom, dissected the body, washing the bones 
and drying them in the sun. When this was done, a neat box 
of birch bark was prepared, into which the bones were placed, 
and the flotilla, now become a funeral convoy, proceeded on its 
way. Only the dip of the i)addles and the sighs of the Indians 
broke the silence, as the funeral cortege advanced. When nearing 
the Mackinac, the missionaries, accompanied by many of the In- 
dians of the place, went to meet them, and there, upon the 
waters, rose " De Profundis," which continued till the coffined 
remains of the good father reached the land. With the usual 
ceremonies, his bones were then borne to the church, where, 
beneath a pall stretched as if over a coffin, they remained during 
the day, when they were deposited in a little vault in the middle 
of the church, " where," says the chronicler, "he still reposes 
as the guardian angel of our Ottawa Mission." Thus did Mar- 
quette accomplish, in death, the voyage which life had not en- 
abled him to terminate. 

In the life of this humble and un]-)relending missionary and 
explorer, there is much to admire. Though an heir to wealth 
and position in his native land, he voluntarily separated him- 
self from his friends, and chose a life of sacrifice, toil, and 
death, that he might ameliorate the moral and spiritual con- 
dition of nations sunk in paganism and vice. His disposition 
was cheerful under all circumstances. His rare qualities of 
mind and heart secured for him the esteem of all who knew 
him. He was a man of sound sense and close observation, 
not disposed to exaggerate, not egotistical. His motives were 
pure, and his efforts earnest. His intellectual abilities must 
have been of no ordinary type ; his letters show him to have 
been a man of education, and, though but nine years a mission- 
ary among the Indians, he spoke six languages with ease, and 
understood less perfectly many others. 

With Marquette, religion was the controlling idea. The 
salvation of a soul was more than the conquest of an empire. 
He was careful to avoid all appearance of a worldly or national 
mission among the savages. On many a hill-side and in many 



JESUIT HISTORY. IQ 



a shady vale did he set up the cross, but nowhere did he carve 
the "LiHes of the Bourbons." His devotion to the "Blessed 
Virgin" was tender and all-absorbing. From early youth to his 
latest breath she was the constant object of his adoration ; no 
letter ever came from his hand which did not contain the words 
" Blessed Virgin Immaculate," and it was with her name upon 
his lips that he closed his eyes in death, as gently as though 
sinking into a quiet slumber. 

Marquette was a Catholic, yet he is not the exclusive prop- 
erty of that people : he belongs alike to all. His name is 
written in the hearts of the good of every class. As an explorer, 
he will live in the annals of the American people forever. 

" He died young, ImU there are silvered lieads 
Whose race of duty is less nobly run." 

The history of the Mission of St. Ignace, after its founder 
embarked on that voyage which immortalized his name, may 
be told in few words. Marquette was succeeded by Father 
Pierson, who, in 1674, found it necessary to erect a new and 
more commodious church, as a large band of Ottawas had settled 
near. In the Spring of 1677, prior to the transfer of Marquette's 
remains to the mission, Father Nouvel arrived, and took charge 
of the Ottawa portion of the mission, leaving the Hurons to 
Father Pierson. In the following year, the mission was again 
consolidated, and Father Enjalran appointed missionary. This 
father continued at the mission for several years, but after him 
we know litde of its history. In 1706, the missionaries, becoming 
disheartened, burned down their college and chapel, and returned 
to Quebec. 



20 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



CHAPTER II. 



FRENCH HISTORY. 

PRIOR to 1679, little had been clone toward exploring and 
coloiiizino; the great North-west, save by the humble dis- 
ciples of Ignatius Loyola ; but at that date commercial enterprise 
entered the field, and the missionary sjDirit took a subordinate 
place in the onward march of civilization. 

When Joliet returned from his voyage down the Mississippi, 
the young, energetic and adventurous Robert Cavalier de la 
Salle, then Lord of Fort Frontcnac, had already planned an ex- 
pedition across the Great Lakes to the shores of the Pacific, 
hoping thereby to find a short passage to China. 

The news of the brilliant discoveries made by Marquette 
and Joliet kindled the sanguinary mind of this young enthusiast, 
and induced him to redouble his exertions to carry out his design. 
With plans for the colonization of the South-west, and commerce 
between Europe and the Mississippi, La Salle now visited M. de 
Frontenac, Governor-General of Canada, and laid before him the 
dim but gigantic outlines of his project. He aimed at the ex- 
tension of French power by the construction of a chain of forti- 
Jications at the most prominent points along the lakes and rivers 
of the West. Frontenac entered warmly into La Salle's plans, 
and advised him to apply directly to the King of France. This 
he accordingly did ; and, meeting with favor at the French Court, 
he obtained a commission for perfecting the discovery of the 
"Great River," dated May 12, 1678, and signed by Colbert, 
and also the monopoly of the traffic in buffalo skins. He was, 
however, forbidden to carry on trade with the Ollawas and other 
tribes of the lakes, who were accustomed to carry iheir furs to 



FRENCH HISTORY. 21 



Montreal. On his return to Quebec, he found Father Louis 
Hennepin, a friar of the Franciscan order, " daring, vain, and 
determined," says Lahnman, " ambitious to reap the glory of 
discovery, and not too scrupulous as to the means," who had 
been appointed by his superiors as acting missionary to accom- 
pany the expedition. 

Though beset by difficulties on every hand, which would have 
appeared formidable to any man of moderate soul. La Salle now 
pushed forward with the utmost dispatch. Late in November, 
he left Fort Frontenac, navigated Ontario in a little vessel often 
tons, and, having pushed as near to the Falls as could be done 
with safety, disembarked. Here the provisions, anchors, chains, 
merchandise, etc., must be carried beyond the cataract to the 
calm water above, a distance of at least twelve miles. Impeded 
by deep snows, gloomy forests, and rugged heights, this task was 
not finished until the 2 2d day of January. 

During tlie remainder of the Winter and the early part of the 
succeeding Summer, a vessel of sixty tons burden, called the 
Griffin^ was constructed, and other preparations perfected, for the 
prosecution of the enterprise. On the 7th day of August, 1679, 
amid the firing of cannon and the chanting of the Te Deum, 
the sails were unfurled, and the little vessel ventured out upon 
Lake Erie. In all, there were thirty-four men on board, mostly 
fur-traders for the valley of the Mississippi. Among them was 
Hennepin, the journalist of the expedition, and two other monks, 
who had joined them at the moulh of the Cayuga, where the 
Griffin was built. 

For three days she boldly held her course over these un- 
known waters, where sail had never been seen before, and then 
turned to the northward, " between the verdant isles of the 
majestic Detroit." Here, on either hand, was spread out the 
finest scenery that had ever delighted the Frenchman's eye. 
Verdant prairies, dotted with groves and bordered with lofty 
forests of walnut, chestnut, wild-plum, and oak, festooned with 
grape-vines, stretched away as far as the eye could reach. Hen- 
nepin wondered that nature, without the help of art, could have 



22 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



made so charming a iDrospect. Herds of deer and flocks of 
swan and wild turkeys were plentiful. The bears and other 
beasts and birds, whose names were unknown, were, in the 
language of the missionary, "extraordinary relishing." 

This was twenty years before the settlement of Detroit. 
Passing on up the river, they entered the lake, which they named 
St. Clair, from the day on which they traversed its shallow 
waters ; and, at length, Lake Huron lay before them, like a vast 
sea sparkling in the sun. Here again they chanted a Te Deum, 
as a thank-offering to the Almighty for the prosperity that had 
attended them. 

The gentle breezes which now swelled the canvas of the 
Griffin seemed to whisper of a quick and prospeious voyage to 
the head-waters of the Huron ; but soon the wind died away to 
a calm, then freshened to a gale, then rose to a furious tempest. 
U'he elements were at war. The raging lake threatened, in her 
wrath, to swallow the little vessel and all her crew. Even the 
stout heart of La Salle was made to quake with fear, and he 
called upon all to commend themselves to Heaven. Save the 
godless pilot, who was loud in his anathemas against his com- 
mander " for having brought him, after the honor he had won on 
the ocean, to drown, at last, ignominiously, in fresh water," all 
clamored to the saints. With the same breath La Salle and the 
missionary declared St. Anthony the patron of the expedition, 
and a score of others promised that a chapel should be built in 
his honor if he would but save them from their jeopardy. But 
the obedient winds were tamed by a greater than St. Anthony, 
and the Grffin " plunged on her way through foaming surges 
that still grew calmer as she advanced." Woody Bois Blanc soon 
lifts the top of her pristine forests to the view^ of the anxious 
mariners. In the dim distance are the Manitoulines. Farther 
on, "sitting like an emerald gem in the clear, pellucid wave, is 
the rock-girt, fairy isle" of Mackinac. St. Ignace, the scene of 
Marquette's missionary labors, and the site of that chapel beneath 
which repose his peaceful ashes, is before them, and Pequodenong, 
where as yet the smoke of the calumet of peace has always 



FRENCH HISTORY. 2$ 



ascended, and the shrill war-wliooi3 has never been heard, rises 
gradually and majestically from the crystal waters which cover, 
but can not conceal, the pebbly depth beneath. It was a grand 
and imposing scene that lay spread out before them. 

The following is from Hennepin : " The 27th, in the morning, 
we continued our course north-west, with a south-east wind, 
which carried us the same day to Michilimackinac, where we 
anchored in a bay at six fathom water, upon a shiny white bottom. 
That bay is sheltered by the coast and a bank lying from the 
south west to the north ; but it lies exposed to the south winds, 
which are very violent in that country. 

"Michilimackinac is a neck of land to the north of the 
mouth of the strait through which the Lake of the Illinois dis- 
charges itself into the Lake Huron. That canal is about three 
leagues long and one broad. 

" We lay between two different nations of savages. Those 
who inhabit the Point of Michilimackinac are called Hurons ; 
and the others, who are about three or four leagues more north- 
ward, are Ottawas. Those savages were equally surprised to 
see a ship in their country ; and the noise of our cannon, of 
which we made a general discharge, filled them with great 
astonishment. We went to see the Ottawas, and celebrated 
mass in their habitation. M. La Salle was finely dressed, hav- 
ing a scarlet cloak with a broad gold lace, and most of his 
men, with their arms, attended him. The chief captains of that 
people received us with great civilities, after their own way ; 
and some of them came on board with us, to see our ship, 
which rode all that while in the bay or creek I have spoken of. 
It was a diverting prospect to see, every day, above six score 
canoes about it, and savages staring, and admiring that fine 
wooden canoe, as they called it. They brought us abundance 
of whitings, and some trouts of fifty or sixty pound weight. 

" We went the next day to pay a visit to the Hurons, who 
inhabit a rising ground on a neck of land over against Michili- 
mackinac. Their villages are fortified with palisades of twenty- 
five feet high, and always situated upon eminences or hills. 



24 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



They received us with more respect than the Ottawas ; for they 
made a triple discharge of all the small guns they had, having 
learned from some Europeans tiiat it is the greatest civility 
among us. However, they took such a jealousy to our ship 
that, as we understood since, they endeavored to make our expe- 
dition odious to all the nations about them. 

" The Hurons and C)ttawas are in confederacy together 
against the Iroquois, their common enemy. They sow Indian 
corn, which is their ordinary food ; for they have nothing else to 
live upon, except some fish they take in the lakes. 'I'hey boil 
it with their sagamittee, which is a kind of broth made with 
water and the tlour of the corn, which tiiey beat in a mortar 
made of the trunk of a tree, which they make hollow with fire." 

La Salle remained at Mackinac until the second day of 
September, when he set sail for Green Bay. At this point, 
contrary to orders, he collected a cargo of furs, with which he 
dispatched the Griffin to Niagara, while he himself, with a part 
of his men, repaired in bark canoes to the head of Lake Mich- 
igan. Here he anxiously awaited the return of his little vessel ; 
but, alas ! he waited in vain. No tidings ever reached him of 
the ill-fated bark ; and to this day none can tell whether she was 
swallowed in the depths of the lake, destroyed by Indians, or 
made the prize of traitors. 

The loss of the Griffin was a very severe stroke upon La 
Salle ; yet he was not discouraged. With inflexible energ)', he 
pursued his course. From Lake Michigan he joroceeded into 
the country of the Illinois, where he wintered. Early in the 
following Spring he dispatched Hennepin to discover the sources 
of the Mississippi, while he himself returned to Canada for new 
supplies, made necessary by the loss of the Griffin. In 1681, he 
returned ; and in 1682, having constructed a vessel of a size suit- 
able for the purpose, he descended the MississiiDpi to the Gulf. 

Having completed the exploration of the Great River, his 
next step was to plant colonies along its banks ; for which pur- 
pose he labored, but with only partial success, until 1687, when 
he was assassinated by one of his own men. 



FRENCH HISTORY. 25 



Some modern writers have stated that the first fort at 
Mackinac, which at that time meant Uttle more than a trading- 
house surrounded by a stockade, was built by La Salle in 1679 ; 
but the fact that Hennepin makes no mention of this, and that 
La Salle was prohibited from trading with the Indians of this 
region, would seem to be sufficient proof to the contrary. Be- 
sides, if we may take the testimony of Holmes's " American 
Annals," this fort or trading-post was first established in 1673. 

Of the early history of this post, subsequent to the date of 
La Salle's visit, we have only such information as may be 
o-athered from the notices of travelers and others whose writings 
have come down to us. 

In 1688, the Baron La Hontan, an officer of rare accom- 
plishments, visited this post, and from him we have the following : 
"At last, finding that my provisions were almost out, I 
resolved to go to Michilimackinac, to buy up corn from the 
Hurons and Ottawas. ... I arrived at this place on the i8th 
of April, and my uneasiness and trouble took date from the day 
of my arrival ; for I found the Indian corn so scarce, by reason 
of the preceding bad harvests, that I despaired of finding half 
so much as I wanted. But, after all, I am hopeful that two 
villages will furnish me with almost as much as I have occasion 
for. Mr. Cavalier arrived here. May 6th, being accompanied 
with his nephew, Father Anastase the Recollect, a pilot, one 
of the savages, and some few Frenchmen, which made a sort of 
a party-colored retinue. These Frenchmen were some of those 
that Mr. de la Salle had conducted upon the discovery of the 
Mississippi. They gave out that they are sent to Canada, in 
order to go to France, with some dispatches from Mr. de la 
Salle to the King ; but we suspect that he is dead, because 
he does not return along with them. I shall not spend time 
in taking notice of their great journey overland; which, by the 
account they gave, can not be less than eight hundred leagues. 
" Michilimackinac, the place I am now in, is certainly a 
place of great importance. It lies in the latitude of forty-five 
degrees and thirty miiuites. It is not above half a league dis- 



26 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



tant from tlie Illinese Lake,* an account of which, and, indeed, 
of all the other lakes, you may expect elsewhere. Here the 
Hurons and Ottawas have, each of them, a village ; the one 
being severed from the other by a single palisade ; but the Ot- 
tawas are beginning to build a fort upon a hill that stands 
ten or twelve hundred paces off. This precaution they were 
prompted to by the murder of a certain Huron, called San- 
daouires, who was assassinated in the Saginaw River by four 
young Ottawas. In this place the Jesuits have a little house or 
college, adjoining to a sort of a church, and inclosed with poles 
that separate it from the village of the Hurons. These good 
fathers lavish away all their divinity and patience, to no pur- 
pose, in converting such ignorant infidels ; for all the length 
they can bring them to, is, that oftentimes they will desire bap- 
tism for their dying children, and some few superannuated 
persons consent to receive the sacrament of baptism when they 
find themselves at the point of death. The Coureurs de Bois 
have but a very small settlement here ; though at the same time 
it is not inconsiderable, as being the staple of all the goods that 
they truck with the south and the west savages ; for they can not 
avoid passing this way, when they go to the seats of the Illinese 
and the Oumamis, or to the Bay des Puans, and to the river of 
Mississippi. The skins, which they import from these different 
places, must lie here some time before they are transported to 
the colony. Michilimackinac is situated very advantageously; 
for the Iroquese dare not venture, with their sorry canoes, to 
cross the strait of the Illinese Lake, which is two leagues over ; 
besides that the Lake of the Hurons is too rough for such 
slender boats ; and as they can not come to it by water, so they 
can not approach to it by land, by reason of the marshes, 
fens, and little rivers, which it would be very difficult to cross ; 
not to mention that the strait of the Illinese Lake lies still in 
their way." 

We are also indebted to La Hontan for a map showing the 

♦Lake Michigan. 



FRENCH HISTORY. 2/ 



location of the Jesuit establisimient, and also of the French and 
Indian villages as tlicy existed in 1688. 

In 1695, ^- ^^ '^ Motte Cadillac, afterward the founder of 
Detroit, commanded at this post. He thus describes the place 
at the time : 

" It is very important that you should know, in case you are 
not already informed, that this village is one of the largest in all 
Canada. There is a fine fort of pickets, and sixty houses that 
form a street in a straight line. There is a garrison of well- 
disciplined, chosen soldiers, consisting of about two hundred men, 
the best formed and most athletic to be found in this New World ; 
besides many other persons who are residents here during two 
or tliree months in tlie year. . . . The houses are arranged 
along the shore of this great Lake Huron, and fish and smoked 
meat constitute the principal food of the inhabitants. 

"The villages of the savages, in wliich there are six or seven 
thousand souls, are about a pistol-shot distant from ours. All 
the lands are cleared for about three leagues around tlieir village, 
and perfectly well cultivated. They produce a sufficient quan- 
tity of Indian corn for the use of both the French and savage 
inhabitants.*' 

In 1699, Cadillac, perceiving the importance of a fort on the 
Detroit, repaired to France to present the subject to the consid- 
eration of Count Pontchartrain, the Colonial Minister. He was 
favorably received, and authorized to establish the proposed fort 
at the earliest date possible. This he accomplished in 1701. 

With the exception of here and there a Jesuit missionary and 
a few half-savage coureurs de hois, the region around Mackinac 
was now forsaken by the French. 

A dispute soon arose between Cadillac and the Jesuits, the 
former insisting upon a concentration of French interests in the 
West, at Detroit, the latter urging the French Government to re- 
establish Mackinac. The Jesuits did all in their power to prevent 
the Indians removing to Detroit, while Cadillac held out every 
inducement to prevail upon them to desert their villages and 
settle in the vicinity of the new fort, and so far succeeded that, in 



28 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



1706, as we have seen, the Jesuits became discouraged, burned 
down their college and chapel, and returned to Quebec. But, 
alarmed at this step, the Governor soon prevailed upon Father 
James Marest to return ; and shortly after the Ottawas, who 
were becoming dissatisfied at Detroit, began to move back to 
Mackinac. 

Father Marest now did all in his power to prevail upon the 
French Government to send M. Louvigny, a former commander, 
with a few soldiers, to re-establish the fort, but did not succeed 
until 17 14, when the long-wished for garrison and commander 
arrived, giving new Hfe to the settlement. 

In 1 72 1, Father Charlevoix, the historian of New France, 
visited Mackinac, and thus speaks of it : 

"I arrived the twenty-eighth (June) at this post, which is 
much declined since M. de la Motte Cadillac drew to Detroit 
the greatest part of the savages who were settled here, and es- 
pecially the Hurons. Several Ottawas have followed them ; 
others have dispersed themselves in the isles of Castor. There is 
only here a middling village, where there is still a great trade for 
peltry, because it is the passage or the rendezvous of many of the 
savage nations. The fort is preserved and the house of the 
missionaries, who are not much employed at present, having 
never found much docility among the Ottawas ; but the court 
thinks their presence necessary, in a place where one must 
often treat with our allies, to exercise their ministry among the 
French, who come hither in great numbers. I have been assured 
that since the settlement of Detroit and the dispersion of the 
s;)vages occasioned thereby, many nations of the North, who 
used to bring their peltries hither, have taken the route of 
Hudson's Bay, by the river Bourbon, and go there to trade 
with the English ; but M. de la Motte could by no means fore- 
see this inconvenience, since we were then in possession of Hud- 
son's Bay. 

"The situation of Michilimackinac is very advantageous for 
trade. This post is between three great lakes : Lake Michigan, 
which is three hundred leagues in compass, without mentioning 



FRENCH HISTORY. 29 



the great bay that comes into it ; Lake Huron, which is three 
hundred and fifty leagues in circumference, and whicli is trian- 
gular ; and the Upper Lake, which is five hundred leagues." 

From the date of Charlevoix's visit, down to 1760, when it 
passed forever out of the hands of the French, the records of 
the establishment at Mackinac are very meagre, and compar- 
atively devoid of interest. At the last-mentioned date we find 
the fort on the south side of the straits, but the time of the re- 
moval to that point has not been given by any author at the 
writer's command. Hennepin, La Hontan, and Cadillac, whom 
we have already quoted, describe it as on the north side, while 
Charlevoix says nothing bearing upon the question. Sheldon, 
in his " History of Early Michigan," suggests that the removal 
probably took place in 17 14, when the post was re-established. 

A brief notice of the war which ended with a transfer of 
Quebec with all its dependencies, not the least among which 
was Mackinac, will close the chapter. 

France and England being rivals in the Old World, could not 
be partners of the New. Had these two powers been satisfied 
to divide the American Continent amicably between them, the 
history of Columbia would have been far different from what it 
is now. But when they crossed the .\tlantic, they brought with 
them their hereditary enmity, and this enmity was strengthened 
by new issues which were constantly arising. Each desired un- 
divided dominion over the North and West, and at times the 
struggle for supremacy was desperate. 

The Indians around the lakes were, almost without exception, 
friendly to the French, while the " Five Nations," dwelling south 
and east from Lake Ontario, sided with the English. 

As early as 1686, English adventurers, in quest of the rich 
furs of the North-west, pushed up the lakes of Mackinac ; but the 
French, unwilling that any portion of the Indian trade should 
pass into the hands of their enemies, made their visits to this 
region too hazardous to be oft repeated. 

The heart sickens in contemplating this portion of our country's 
history. Many a spot was stained with the blood of its unfor- 



30 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



tunate inhabitants. The forests were often lighted up with the 
conflagration of burning villages, and the stillness of the midnight 
hour was frequently broken by the shrill war-whoop, mingled with 
the shrieks of helpless women under the tomahawk or scalping- 
knife. And these tragic scenes were too often prompted by 
French or English thirst for power. 

But finally, after many years, during which, with only short 
intervals of peace, these scenes of blood had frecjuent repetitions, 
the British Government determined to make a powerful eftbrt to 
dispossess the French colonies of this territory. Military oper- 
ations, however, were at first unfavorable to the English cause. 
Many a red column of well-trained and well-armed regulars 
wavered before the rifles of the combined French and Indians, 
who fought concealed in thickets, or from behind a breastwork 
of fallen trees. But in 1759, victory turned on the side of the 
English, and the question was brought to a speedy and decisive 
issue. An English army, under the command of Brigadier- 
General Wolf, succeeded, during the night of September 12th, in 
gaining the Fleights of Abraham, at Quebec, where, upon the fol- 
lowing day, was gained one of the most momentous victories in the 
annals of history — a victory which gave to the English tongue and 
the institutions of a Protestant Christianity the unexplored and 
seemingly infinite North and West. 

Though this victory was gained in September of 1759, it 
was not until September of 1760 that a final surrender of Can- 
ada, with all the French posts around the lakes, was made to 
the English, and not till September of 1761 that possession was 
taken of Mackinac by English troops, as mentioned by Henry 
in the following chapter. 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 3I 



CHAPTER III. 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 

WITH the change of jurisdiction narrated in the previous 
chapter, a new scene opens before us — a scene in which 
the red men are the principal actors. The victory on the Heights 
of Abraham, at Quebec, gave to England the possession of a 
wide extent of territory ; but that territory was one massive 
forest, interrupted only by prairies or lakes, or an occasional 
Indian cleared field, of small dimensions, for maize. The 
emblems of power in these illimitable wastes were the occasional 
log forts, with picketed inclosures, which, from time to time, 
had been constructed by the French, but more as trading-posts 
than as military strongholds. 

What the English had gained by force of arms, they took 
possession of as conquerors ; and, in their eagerness to supplant 
the French, they were blind to danger. Some of their ports 
were garrisoned by less than a score of men, and often left 
dependent upon the Indians for supplies, though they were so 
widely remote from each other that, " lost in the boundless 
woods, they could no moie be discovered than a little fleet of 
canoes scattered over the v.'hole Atlantic, too minute to be per- 
ceptible, and safe only in fair weather." But, weak as were 
the English, their presence alarmed the red man, for it implied 
a design to occupy the country which, for ages, had been his 
own ; and the transfer of the territory around the Great Lakes 
from the French, who were the friends of the Indians, to the 
English, upon v.hom they had been taught to look with dis- 
trust, could not, therefore, be regarded with favor by these tawny 
sons of the woods. The untutored mind of the savage could 



32 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC, 



not comprehend by what right the British flag was unfurled in 
the West. They could not understand how the English could 
derive any claim to the red men's forest from victories over the 
French. Hence, from the very first, the English were regarded 
with suspicion by the Indian. 

It would have been well had the conduct of the English 
been such as to allay these suspicions ; but, unfortunately, it was 
not. The Indians and French had lived on terms of the great- 
est intimacy. They were often like brothers in the same lodge. 
'* They called us children, and we found them fathers," said a 
Chippewa chief; and these feelings pervaded the bosoms of all 
the lake tribes. But the English were cold and repulsive toward 
the Indians. The French had made them liberal presents of 
guns, ammunition, and clothing ; but the English either withheld 
these presents altogether, or dealt them out so sparingly that 
many of them, deprived of their usual supplies, were reduced to 
want, and thus a spirit of discontent was fostered among them. 
But there were other grievances. The English fur-traders were, 
as a class, ruffians of the coarsest stamp, who vied with each 
other in violence and rapacity, and who cheated and plundered the 
Indians, and outraged V\\(i\x favii lies. The soldiers and officers 
of the garrisons had no word of welcome for them when they 
came to the forts, but only cold looks and harsh words, with 
oaths, menaces, and not un frequently blows from the more reck- 
less and brutal of theii number. Another fruitful source of 
anxiety and discontent on the part of the Indians, was the in- 
trusion of settlers upon their lands. Their homes were in danger. 
In spite of every remonstrance, their best lands had already 
been invaded ; their hunting-grounds would soon be taken from 
them, and the graves of their ancestors be desecrated by un- 
hallowed feet. Some of the tribes were wrought up to the hign- 
est pitch of excitement and revenge by this constant invasion 
of their rights. 

Meanwhile, it must not be supposed that the French were 
mere idle spectators of passing events. Canada was gone be- 
yond the hope of recovery; but they still sought to revenge its 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 33 



loss by inflaming the resentment of the Indians, and in this 
they spared neither misrepresentation nor falsehood. They told 
them that the English had formed the deliberate design of root- 
ing out their race, and for that purpose were already penning 
them in with settlements on the one hand and a chain of forts 
on the other ; that the King of France had of late years fallen 
asleei3 ; that, during his slumbers, the English had seized upon 
Canada ; but that he v/as now awake, and his armies were even 
then advancing up the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi, to 
drive the intruders from the country of his red children. These, 
and similar fabrications, made a deep impression upon the minds 
of the savages, and nerved them fur the approaching contest. 
Yet another cause contributed much toward increasing the gen- 
eral excitement and dissatisfaction, and bringing the matter to an 
issue. A prophet came among the Delawares, and the suscep- 
tibility of the Indians to religious and superstitious impressions 
gave him a mighty influence over them. They were taught to 
lay aside every thing which they had received from the white 
man, and so strengthen and purify their natures as to make 
themselves acceptable to the Great Spirit, and by so doing they 
would soon be restored to their ancient greatness and power, 
and be enabled to drive the enemy from their country. The 
prophet had many followers. From far and near, large numbers 
came to listen to his exhortations ; and his words, pregnant with 
mischief to the unsuspecting Englishman, were borne even to 
the nations around the northern lakes. 

This excitement among the savage tribes soon led them to 
overt action. In the Spring of 1761, Captain Campbell, then 
commanding at Detroit, learned that a deputation of Senecas 
had come to the neighboring village of the Wyandots for the 
purpose of instigating the latter to destroy him and his garrison. 
Upon examination, the plot was found to be general, and other 
posts were to share the fate of his own ; but his promptness in 
sending information to the other commanders nipped the con- 
spiracy in the bud. During the following year, a similar design 
was detected and suppressed. But these were only the pre- 

3 



34 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



cursors of a tempest. In the Spring of 1763, a scheme was ma- 
tured, "greater in extent, deeper and more comprehensive m 
design — such a one as was never, before or since, conceived or 
executed by a North American Indian." It contemplated, — -first, 
a sudden and contemporaneous assault upon all the English forts 
around the lakes ; and, second, the garrisons having been de 
stroyed, the turning of a savage avalanche of destruction upon 
the defenseless frontier settlements, until, as many fondly be- 
lieved, the English should be driven into the sea, and the Indians 
reinstated in their primitive possessions. 

But before we further describe this conspiracy, let us turn our 
attention towards Michilimackinac, and note the events that were 
transpiring at that point. It is unnecessary to say that the 
Indians of this neighborhood as generally and as sincerely la- 
mented the change which had taken place in public affairs as their 
more southern neighbors. While they were strongly attached to 
the old residents, with whom they had so long lived and traded 
on the most amicable terms, they were very generally prejudiced 
against the new-comers ; and this prejudice was wholly due to the 
French : for, at the time of which we speak, the English had not 
taken possession of the post. We can not better describe the 
feelings which actuated these Indians than by relating the ad- 
ventures of Alexander Henry, the first English fur-trader who 
ventured to come among them. It was with difficulty that 
Henry obtained permission to trade at Michilimackinac at the 
time ; for, no treaty of peace having been made with the Indians, 
the authorities were justly apprehensive that neither the property 
nor lives of his majesty's subjects would be very secure among 
them. But, eager to make the attempt which he himself after- 
ward called premature, he at length obtained the coveted license, 
and, on the third day of August, 1761, began his journey. 
Nothing worthy of note occurred until he reached the island of 
La Cloche, in Lake Huron. Here the trader found a large 
village of Indians, whose behavior was, at first, full of civility 
and kindness ; but when they discovered that he was an English- 
man, there was at once a marked change in the treatment which 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 35 



he received at their hands. They told him that the Indians at 
MichiUmackinac would not fail to kill him, and that they had a 
right, therefore, to a share of the pillage. Upon this principle, 
they demanded a keg of rum, adding that if it was not given to 
them, they would proceed to take it. Flenry judged it prudent 
to comply, but on condition that he should experience no fur- 
ther molestation from them. From this point he received re- 
peated warnings of sure destruction at Michilimackinac. Op- 
pressed with a sense of danger, he knew not what to do. It 
was well-nigh impossible to return, as he was advised to do ; 
for his provisions were nearly exhausted. At length, observing 
that the hostility of the Indians was exclusively toward the 
English, while between them and his Canadian attendants there 
appeared the most cordial good-will, he resolved to change his 
English dress for a suit such as was usually worn by Canadian 
traders. This done, he besmeared his face and hands with dirt 
and grease, and, taking the place of one of his men whenever 
Indians approached, used the paddle, with as much skill as pos- 
sible. In this manner he was enabled to prosecute his journey 
without attracting the smallest notice. Early in September, he 
arrived at the island of Mackinac, and here we propose to intro- 
duce the hardy adventurer to the reader, and allow him, in his 
voyageur's dress, to speak for himself: 

" The land in the center of this island," he says, " is high, 
and its form somewhat resembles that of a turtle's back. 
Mackinac, or Mickinac, signifies a turtle, and viichi, or niissi, 
signifies great, as it does also several, or many. The common 
interpretation of the word Michilimackinac is, the Great Turtle. 
It is from this island that the fort, commonly known by the name 
of Michilimackinac, has obtained its appellation. 

" On the island, as I had previously been taught to expect, 
there was a village of Chippewas, said to contain a hundred 
warriors. Here I was fearful of discovery, and consequent ill- 
treatment ; but after inquiring the news, and particularly whether 
or not any Englishman was coming to Michilimackinac, they suf- 
fered us to pass uninjured. One man, indeed, looked at me, 



36 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



laughed, and pointed me out to another. This was enough to 
give me some uneasiness ; but, whatever was the singularity he 
perceived in me, both he and his friend retired, without sus- 
pecting me to be an Englishman. 

" Leaving, as speedily as possible, the island of Michilimack- 
inac, I crossed the strait, and landed at the fort of the same 
name. The distance from the island is about two leagues. I 
landed at four o'clock in the afternoon. 

" Here I put the entire charge of my effects into the hands 
of my assistant, Campion, between whom and myself it had 
been previously agreed that he should pass for the proprietor ; 
and my men were instructed to conceal the fact that I was an 
Englishman. 

"Campion soon found a house, to which I retired, and where 
I hoped to remain in privacy ; but the men soon betrayed my 
secret, and I was visited by the inhabitants, with great show of 
civility. They assured me that I could not stay at Michilimack- 
inac without the most imminent risk, and strongly recommended 
that I should lose no time in making my escape to Detroit. 

"Though language like this could not but increase my un- 
easiness, it did not shake my determination to remain with my 
property, and encounter the evils with which I was threatened : 
and my spirits were in some measure sustained by the sentiments 
of Campion in this regard ; for he declared his belief that the 
Canadian inhabitants of the fort were more hostile than the In- 
dians, as being jealous of Indian traders, who, like myself, were 
penetrating into the country. 

" Fort Michilimackinac was built by order of the Governor- 
General of Canada, and garrisoned with a small number of militia, 
who, having families, soon became less soldiers than settlers. 
Most of those whom I found in the fort had originally served in 
the French army. 

" The fort stands on the south side of the strait, which is 
between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. It has an area of 
two acres, and is inclosed with pickets of cedar-wood, and it is 
so near the water's edge that, when the wind is in the west, the 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC 3/ 



waves break against the stockade. On the bastions are two 
small pieces of brass English cannon, taken some years since by 
a party of Canadians who went on a plundering expedition 
against the posts of fludson's Bay, which they reached by the 
route of the river Churchill. 

"Within the stockade are thirty houses, neat in their appear 
ance, and tolerably commodious ; and a cliurch, in which mass 
is celebrated by a Jesuit missionary. The number of f;amilies 
may be nearly equal to that of the houses, and their subsistence 
is derived from the Indian traders, who assemble here in their 
voyages to and from Montreal. Michilimackinac is the place of 
deposit, and point of departure between the upper countries and 
the lower. Here the outfits are prepared for the countries of 
Lake Michigan and the Mississippi, Lake Sujierior and the North- 
west ; and here the returns in furs arc collected and embarked 
for Montreal. 

" I was not released fiom the visits and admonitions of the 
inhabitants of the fort, before I received the equivocal intel- 
ligence that the whole band of Chippcwas from the island of 
Michilimackinac was arrived with the intention of paying me 
a visit. 

"There was in the fort one Farley, an interpreter, lately in 
the emplov of the French Commandant. He had married a 
Chippewa woman, and was said to possess great influence over 
the nation to which his wife belonged. Doubtful as to the kind 
of visit which I was about to receive, I sent for this interpreter, 
and requested first that he would have the kindness to be 
present at the interview, and, secondly, that he would inform me 
of the intentions of the baud. Mr. P^irley agreed to be 
present; and, as to the object of the visit, replied that it was 
consistent with a uniform custom, that a stranger on his arrival 
should be waited upon, and welcomed by the chiefs of the nation, 
who, on their part, always gave a small present, and always ex- 
pected a large one 3 but, as to the rest, declared himself unable 
to answer for the particular views of the Chippewas on this occa- 
'^ion, I being an Englishman, and the Indians having made no 



38 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



treaty with the English. He thought that there might be danger, 
the Indians having protested that they would not suffer an Eng- 
lishman to remain in their part of the country. This information 
was far from agreeable ; but thero was no resource, except in 
fortitude and patience. 

" At two o'clock in the afternoon, the Chippewas came to my 
house, about sixty in number, and headed by Mina'va'va'na, their 
chief They walked in single trie, each with his tomahawk in 
one hand, and scalping-knife in the other. Their bodies were 
naked, from the waist upwaid, except in a few examples, where 
blankets were thrown loosely over the shoulders. Their faces 
were painted with charcoal worked up with grease ; their 
bodies with white './ay, in patterns of various fancies. Some 
had feathers thrus* through their noses, and their heads decorated 
with the same. It is unnecessary to dwell on the sensations 
with which I beheld the approach of this uncouth, if not frightful, 
assemblage. 

"The ciuef entered first, and the rest followed, without 
noise. On receiving a sign from the former, the latter seated 
themselves on the floor. 

" Minavavana appeared to be about fifty years of age. He 
was six feet in height, and had in his countenance an inde- 
scribable mixture of good and evil. Looking steadfastly at 
me, where I sat in ceremony, with an interpreter on either 
hand, and several Canadians behind me, he entered, at the 
same time, into conversation with Campion, inquiring how long 
it was since I left Montreal, and observing that the English, as 
it would seem, were brave men, and not afraid of death, since they 
dared to come, as I had done, fearlessly among their enemies. 

"The Indians now gravely smoked their pipes, while I in- 
wardly endured the tortures of suspense. At length, the pipes 
being finished, as well as a long pause by which they were suc- 
ceeded, Minavavana, taking a few strings of wampum in his 
hand, began the following speech: 

" ' Englishman, it is to you that I speak, and I demand your 
attention ! 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 39 



"'Englishman, you know that the French King is our father. 
He promised to be such ; and we, in return, promised to be his 
children. This promise we have kept. 

"'Englishman, it is you that have made war with this our 
father. You are his enemy ; and how, then, could you have 
the boldness to venture among us, his children ? You know 
that his enemies are ours. 

" 'Englishman, we are informed that our fatiier, the King of 
France, is old and infirm ; and that, being fatigued with making 
war upon your nation, he is fallen asleep. Duiing his sleep you 
have taken advantage of him, and possessed yourselves of Can- 
ada. But his nap is almost at an end. I think I hear him 
already stirring and inquiring for his children, the Indians ; 
and, when he does awake, what must become of you ? He will 
destroy you utterly ! 

" ' Englishman, although you have conquered the French, 
you have not yet conquered us ! We are not your slaves. 
These lakes, these woods and mountains, were left to us by our 
ancestors. They are our inheritance, and we will part with 
them to none. Your nation supposes that we, like the white 
people, can not live without bread — and pork — and beef! But, 
you ought to know that He, the Great Spirit and Master of Life, 
has provided food for us, in these spacious lakes, and on these 
woody mountains. 

"'Englishman, our father, the King of France, employed our 
young men to make war upon your nation. In this warfare 
many of them have been killed ; and it is our custom to retaliate 
until such time as the spirits of the slain are satisfied. But the 
spirits of the slain are to be satisfied in either of two ways ; the 
first is by the spilling of the blond of the nation by which they 
fall ; the other, by cohering tJic bodies of the dead^ and thus allay- 
ing the resentment of their relations. This is done by making 
presents. 

"'Englishman, your king has never sent us any presents, 
nor entered into any treaty with us, wherefore he and we are 
still at war ; and, until he does these things, we must consider 



40 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



that we have no other father nor friend, among the white men, 
than the King of France; but, for you, we ha\e taken into con- 
sideration that you have ventured your hfe among us in the ex- 
pectation that we should not molest you. You do not come 
armed, witli an intention to make war; you come in jDcace, to 
trade with us, and suppl}- us with necessaries, of which we are 
much in want. We shall regard you, tiierefore, as- a brother; 
and you may sleep tranquilly, without fear of the Ciiippewas. 
As a token of our friendship, we piesent you with this pipe, to 
smoke.' 

" As Minavavana uttered these words, an Indian presented 
me with a pipe, which, after I had drawji the smoke tliree times, 
was carried to the chief, and after him to every person in the 
room. This ceremony ended, the chief arose, and gave me his 
hand, in which he was followed by all the rest. 

"Being again seated, Minavavana requested that his young 
men might be allowed to taste what he called my English tnilk 
(meaning rum), observing, that it was long since they had tasted 
any, and that they were very desirous to know whether or not there 
were any difference between the English milk and the French. 

" M\- adventure on leaving Fort William Augustus had left 
an impression on my mind which made me tremble when Indians 
asked for rum ; and I would therefore willingly have excused 
myself in this particular ; but, being informed that it was cus- 
tomary to comply with the request, and withal satisfied with the 
friendly declarations which I had received, I promised to give 
them a small cask at parting. After this, by the aid of my in- 
terpreter, I made a reply to the speech of Mina\'avana, declaring 
that it was the good character which I had heard of the Indians 
that had alone emboldened me to come among them ; that their 
late father, the King of France, had surrendered Canada to the 
King of England, whom they ought to regard now as their father, 
and who would be as careful of them as the other had been; 
that I had come to furnish them with necessaries, and that their 
good treatment of me would be an encouragement to others. 
They appeared satisfied with what I said, repeating Eh! (an 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 4I 



expression of approbation) after hearing each particuhir. I had 
prepared a present, which I now gave thcni with the utmost good- 
will. At their departure, I distributed a small quantity of rum. 

"Relieved, as I now imagined myself, from all occasion of 
anxiety as to the treatment which I was to experience from the 
Indians, I assorted my^oods, and hired Canadan interpreters and 
clerks, in whose care I was to send them into Lake Michigan, 
and the river Saint Pierre, in the country of the Nadov/essies ; 
into Lake Superior among the Chippewas ; and to the Grand 
Portage, for the north-west. Every thing was ready for their 
departure, when new dangers sprung up and threatened to over- 
whelm me. 

"At the entrance of Lake Michigan, and at about twenty 
miles to the west of Fort Michilimackinac, is the village of 
L'Arbre Croche, inhabited by a band of Ottawas, boasting of 
two hundred and fifty fighting men. L'Arbre Croche is the seat 
of the Jesuit Mission of Saint Ignace de Michilimackinac, and 
the people are partly baptized and partly not. The missionary 
resides on a farm, attached to the mission, and situated between 
the village and the fort, both of which are under his care. The 
Ottawas of L'Arbre Croche, who, when compared with the 
Chippewas, appear to be much advanced in civilization, grow 
maize for the market of Michilimackinac, where this commodity 
is depended upon for provisioning the canoes. 

"The new dangers which presented themselves came from 
this village of Ottawas. Every thing, as I have said, was in 
readiness for the departure of my goods, when accounts arrived 
of its approach ; and shortly after, two hundred warriors entered 
the fort, and billeted themselves in the several houses among the 
Canadian inhabitants. The next morning, they assembled in 
the house which was built for the commandant, or governor, and 
ordered the attendance of myself, and of two other merchants, 
still later from Montreal ; namely, Messrs. Stanley Goddard and 
Ezekiel Solomons. 

"After our entering the council-room, and taking our seats, 
one of the chiefs commenced an address: ' Englishmen ' said 



42 OLD AND NEW MACK FN AC. 



he 'we, tile Ottawas, were some time since informed of your 
arrival in this country, and of your having brought with you the 
goods of which we have need. At the news we were greatly 
pleased, believing that, through your assistance, our wives and 
children would he enal)led to pass another Winter ; but what was 
our surprise wiien, a few days ago, we were again informed that 
the goods which, as we had expected, were intended for us, weie 
on the eve of departure for distant countries, of which some are 
inhabited by our enemies! These accounts being spread, our 
wives and children came to us, crying, and desiring that we 
should go to the fort, to learn, with our own ears, their truth or 
falsehood. We accordingly embarked, almost naked, as }ou see ; 
and on our arrival here, we have inquired into the accounts, and 
found them true. We see your canoes ready to depart, and find 
your men engaged foi' the Mississippi and other distant regions. 

" Under these circumstances, we have considered the afifiiir ; 
and you are now sent for, that you may hear our determination, 
which is, that you shall give to each of our men, young and 
old, merchandise and ammunition to the amount of fifty beaver- 
skins, on credit, and for which I have no doubt of their paying 
you in the Summer, on their return from their wintering. 

" A compliance with this demand would have stripped me 
and my fellow-merchants of all our merchandise ; and what ren- 
dered the affiiir still more serious, we even learned that these 
Ottawas were never accustomed to pay for what they received on 
credit. In reply, therefore, to the speech which we had heard, 
we requested that the demand contained in it might be dimin- 
ished ; but we were answered, that the Ottawas had nothing 
further to say, except that they would allow till the next day for 
reflection ; after which, if compliance was not given, they would 
make no further application, but take into their own hands the 
property, which they already regarded as their own, as having 
been brought into their country before the conclusion of any 
peace between themselves and the English. 

" We now returned to consider of our situation ; and in the 
evening, Farley, the interpreter, paid us a visit, assured us that 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 43 



it was the intention of the Ottawas to put us, that night, to 
death. He advised us, as our only means of safety, to comply 
with the demands which had been made ; but we suspected our 
informant of a disposition to prey upon our fears, with a view to 
induce us to abandon the Indian trade, and resolved, however 
this might be, rather to stand on the defensive than submit. 
We trusted to the house in which I lived as a fort; and armed 
ourselves, and about thirty of our men, with muskets. Whether 
or not the Ottawas ever intended violence, we never had an 
opportunity of knowing ; but the night passed quietly. 

" Early the next morning, a second council was held, and the 
merchants were again summoned to attend. Believing that 
every hope of resistance would be lost should we commit our 
person into the hands of our enemies, we sent only a refusal. 
There was none without, in whom we had any confidence, except 
Campion. From him we learned, from time to time, whatever 
was rumored among the Canadian inhabitants as to the designs 
of the Ottawas ; and from him, toward sunset, we received the 
gratifying intelligence that a detachment of British soldiery, sent 
to garrison Michilimackinac, was distant only five miles, and 
would enter the fort early the next morning. Near at hand, 
however, as relief was reported to be, our anxiety could not but be 
great ; for a long night was to be passed, and our fate might be 
decided before the morning. To increase our apprehensions, 
about midnight we were informed that the Ottawas were holding 
a council, at which no white man was permitted to be present, 
Farley alone excepted ; and him we suspected, and afterward 
positively knew, to be our greatest enemy. We, on our part, 
remained all night upon the alert ; but at day-break, to our siu"- 
prise and joy, we saw the Ottawas preparing to depart. By sun- 
rise, not a man of them was left in the fort ; and, indeed, the 
scene was altogether changed. The inhabitants, who, while the 
Ottawas were present, had avoided all connection with the En- 
glish traders, now came with congratulations. They related that 
the Ottawas had proposed to them that, if joined by the Cana- 
dians, they would march and attack the troops which were known 



44 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



to be advancing on the fort ; and they added that it was their 
refusal which had delermined the (Jltawas to deparl. At noon, 
three hunched troops of the Sixticdi Regiment, under the com- 
mand of Lieutenant Lesslie, marched into the fort ; and this 
arrival dissipated all our fears, from whatever source derived. 
After a few days, detachments were sent into the Bay des Puans, 
by which is the route to the Mississipi)i, and at the mouth of 
Saint Joseph, which leads to the Illinois. The Indians from all 
quarters came to pay their respects to the commandant ; and 
the merchants dispatched their canoes, though it was now the 
middle of September, and tlicrefore somewhat late in the 
season." 

Thus relieved from his fears, Henry spent the Winter at Mich- 
ilimackiiiac, amusing himself as best he could by hunting and 
lisliing. ]kit few of the Indians, he tells us, came to the fort, ex- 
ce[)ting two families, one of which was that of a chief These 
families lived on a river hve leagues below, and came occasion- 
ally with beaver-llesh for sale. This chief was an exception to 
the rule ; for instead of being hostile toward the English, he was 
warmly attached to them. But in this case the exception proved 
the rule, to a demonstration. Henry thus speaks of him : " He 
had been taken prisoner by Sir William Johnson, at the siege of 
Fort Niagara; and had received from that intelligent officer his 
liberty, the medal usually presented to a ciiief, and the British 
flag. Won by these unexpected acts of kindness, he had re- 
turned to Michilimackinac, full of praises of the English, and 
hoisting his flag over his lodge. This latter demonstration of 
his partiality had nearly cost him his life; his lodge was broken 
down, and his flag torn to pieces. The ijieces he carefully 
gathered up, and preserved with pious care ; and whenever he 
came to the fort, he drew them forth and exhibited them. On 
these occasions, it grew into a custom to give him as much liquor 
as he said was necessary to make him cry over the misfortune of 
losing his flag. The commandant would have given him another ; 
but he thought that he could not accept it without danger." 

Upon the opening of navigation, Henry left Michilimackinac 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 45 



to visit the Sault de St. Marie. Here he made the acquaintance 
of M. Cadotte, an inteipreter, whose wife was a Chippewa; and, 
desirous of learning that language, he decided to spend the suc- 
ceeding Winter in the family of his new-found friend. Here also 
there was a small fort, and during the Summer a small detachment 
of troops, under the command of Lieutenant Jcmctte, arrived to 
•varrison it. Late in the Fall, however, a destructive lire, which 
consumed all the houses except Cadotle's, and all the fort supplies, 
made it necessary to send the garrison back to Michilimackinac. 
The few that were left at tliis place were now crowded into one 
small house, and compelled to gain a subsistence by hunting and 
fishing. 'Thus, inuring himself to hardships, and fuiiiliarizing 
himself with the Chippewa tongue, Henry passed the second 
VVinler of iiis sojourn in the wilderness of the Upper Lakes. 
Early in the succeeding Spring, 1763, he was visited by Sir 
Robert Dover, an English gentleman, who, as Henry tells us, 
" was on a voyage of curiosity," and with him he again re- 
turned to Michilimackinac. Here he intended to remain until 
his clerks should come from the interior, and then go back 
to the Sault. Leaving our hero at the moment of his arrival 
at the fort, v^^e must again turn our attention to the tribes fixrther 
south. 

" It is difficult to determine," says Parkman, " which tribe was 
first to raise the cry of war. There were many who might have 
done so ; for all the savages in the backwoods were ripe for an 
outbreak, and the movement seemed almost simultaneous. The 
Delavvares and Senecas were the most incensed ; and Kiashuta, 
chief of the latter, was perhaps foremost to apply the torch : but 
if this were the case, he touched fire to materials already on the 
point of igniting. It belonged to a greater chief than he to give 
method and order to what would else have been a wild burst 
of fury, and to convert desultory attacks into a formidable and 
protracted war. But for Pontiac, the whole might have ended 
in a few troublesome inroads upon the frontier, and a little 
whooping and yelling vmder the walls of Fort Pitt." 

There has been some dispute as to the nationality of Pontiac. 



46 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



Some have made him a member of the tribe of Sacks, or Saakies ; 
but by for the greater number have phiced him among the Otta- 
was. His home was about eight miles above Detroit, on Pechee 
Island, which looks out upon the waters of Lake St. Clair. His 
form was cast in the finest mold of savage grace and strength, 
and his eye seemed capable of penetrating, at a glance, the 
secret motives which actuated the savage tribes around him. 
His rare personal qualities, his courage, resolution, wisdom, 
address, and elociuence, together with the hereditary claim to 
authority which, according to Indian custom, he possessed, 
secured for him the esteem of both the French and English, and 
gave him an ini^uence among the Lake tribes greater than that 
of any other individual. Early in life he distinguished himself as 
a chieftain of no ordinary ability. In 1746, he commanded a 
powerful body of Indians, mostly Ottawas, who gallantly defended 
the people of Detroit against the formidable attack of several 
combined northern tribes ; and it is supposed that he was present 
at the disastrous defeat of Braddock, in which several hundred of 
his warriors were engaged. He had always, at least up to the 
time when Major Rogers came into the country, been a firm 
friend of the French, and received many marks of esteem from 
the French officer. Marquis de Montcalm. 

How could he, then, "the daring chief of the North-west," 
do otherwise than dispute the English claim to his country ? 
How could he endure the sight of this people driving the game 
from his hunting-grounds, and his friends and allies from. the 
lands they had so long possessed ? When he heard that Rogers 
was advancing along the lakes to take possession of the country, 
his indignation knew no bounds, and he at once sent deputies, 
requesting him to halt until such time as he could see him. 
Flattering words and fair promises induced him, at length, to 
extend the hand of friendship to Rogers. He was inclined to 
live peaceably with the English, and to encourage their settling 
in the country, as long as they treated him as he deserved ; but 
if they treated him with neglect, he would shut up the way, and 
exclude them from it. He did no^ consider himself a conquered 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 47 



prince, but he expected to be treated with the respect and honor 

due to a king. 

While a system of good management might have allayed every 
suspicion and engendered peace and good-will, a want of cor 
diality increased the discontent, and Pontiac soon saw that the 
fair promises which had been made him were but idle words. 
The Indians were becoming more and more dissatisfied, and he 
began seriously to apprehend danger from the new government 
and people. He saw in the EngUsh a boundless ambition to 
possess themselves of every military position on the Northern 
waters, an ambition which plainly indicated to his far-reaching 
sa-^acity, that soon nothing less than undisputed possession of all 
his vast domain would satisfy them. He saw in them a people 
superior in arms, but utterly destitute of that ostensible cordiality 
toward the Indians personally to wliich his people had been 
accustomed during the golden age of French dominion, and 
which they were apt to regard as necessary indications of good 
faith. There seemed no disposition for national courtesy, indi- 
vidual intercourse, or beneficial commerce of any kind. All 
those circumstances which made the neighborhood of the 
French agreeable, and which might have made their own at least 
tolerable, they neglected. Their conduct never gave rest to sus- 
picion, while that of the French never gave rise to it. Hence, 
the Indians felt, as Minavavana expressed it, that they had " no 
father among the white men but the King of France /' and Pontiac 
resolved, as he had threatened, to " shut up the way." His plan, 
as we have said, was to make a contemporaneous assault upon 
all the British posts, and thus effectually to extinguish the En- 
glish power at a single blow. This was a stroke of policy which 
evinced an extraordinary genius, and demanded for its successful 
execution an energy and courage of the iiighest order. But 
Pontiac was fully equal to the task. He was as skillful in ex- 
ecuting as he was bold in planning. He knew that success 
would multiply friends and allies ; but friends and allies were 
necessary to insure success. 

First, then, a council must be called ; and for this purpose, at 



48 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



the close of 1762, he sent out his embassadors to all the different 
nations. Wilh the war-belt of wampum and the tomahawk 
stained red in token of war, these swift-footed messengers went 
from camp to camp and from village to village, throughout the 
North, South, East, and West ; and in whatever tribe they ap- 
peared, the sachems assembled to hear the words of the great 
Pontiac. The message was every-wliere heard with appro- 
bation, the war-belt accepted, and the hatchet seized, as an 
indication that the assembled chiefs stood pledged to take part 
in the war. 

The Grand Council assembled on the twenty-seventh day of 
the following April, on the banks of the little river Ecorce, not 
far from Detroit. The pipe went round, and Pontiac stepped 
forth, plumed and painted in the full costume of war. He called 
into requisition all the eloquence and cunning of which he was 
master. He appealed to their fears, their hopes, their ambition, 
their cupidity, their hatred of the English, and their love for 
their old friends, the French. He displayed to them a belt 
which he said the King of France had sent him, urging him to 
drive the English from the country, and open the way for the 
return of the French. He painted, in glowing colors, the com- 
mon interests of their race, and called upon them to make a 
stand against a common foe. He told them of a dream in which 
the Great Manitou had appeared to a chief of the Abenakis, 
saying : " I am the Maker of heaven and earth, the trees, lakes, 
rivers, and all things else. I am the Maker of mankind ; and 
because I love you, you must do my will. The land on which 
you live, I have made for you, and not for others. Why do you 
suffer the white men to dwell among you .■" My children, you 
have forgotten the customs and traditions of your forefathers. 
Why do you not clothe yourselves in skins, as they did, and use 
the bows and arrows, and the stone-pointed lances which they 
used ? You have bought guns, knives, kettles, and blankets from 
the white men, until you can no longer do without them ; and, 
what is worse, you have drunk the poison fire-water, which turns 
you into fools. Fling all these things away ; live as your wise 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 49 



forefathers lived before you. And as for these English — these 
dogs dressed in red, who have come to rob you of your 
hunting-grounds, and drive away the game — you must lift the 
hatchet against them. Wipe them from the face of the earth, 
and then you will win my favor back again, and once more 
be happy and prosperous. The children of your great father, 
the King of France, are not like the English. Never forget 
that they are your brethren. They are very dear to me ; for 
they love the red men, and understand the true mode of wor- 
shiping me." 

Such an appeal to the passions and prejudices of credulous 
and excited savages was well calculated to produce the desired 
effect. If the Great Spirit was with them, it was impossible to 
fail. Other speeches were doubtless made, and before the 
Council broke up, the scheme was well matured. 

Thus was the crisis hastening" on. While every principle of 
revenge, ambition, and patriotism in the savages were thus being 
roused up to the highest pitch, and the tomahawk was already 
lifted for the blow, scarce a suspicion of the savage design found 
its way to the minds of the English. Occasionally an English 
trader would see something in their behavior which caused him 
to suspect mischief, or " some scoundrel half-breed would be 
heard boasting in his cups that before next Summer he would 
have English hair to fringe his hunting-frock," but these things 
caused no alarm. Once, however, the plot was nearly discov- 
ered. A friendly Indian told the commander of Fort Miami 
that a war-belt had been sent to the warriors of a neighboring 
village, and that the destruction of himself and garrison had 
been resolved upon ; but when information of this was conveyed 
to Major Gladwyn, of Detroit, that officer wrote to General 
Amherst stating that, in his opinion, there had been some irri- 
tation among the Indians, but that the affair would soon blow 
over, and that in the neighborhood of his own fort all was tran- 
quil. Amherst thought that the acts of the Indians were unwar- 
rantable, and hoped that they would be too sensible of their 
own interests to conspire against the English; he wished 



50 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



them to know that if they did, in his opii>ion they would 
make a "contemptible figure." "Yes," said he, '■'■ -a. contc77iptible 
figure! They would be the sufferers, and in the end it would 
result in their destruction." Deluded men! Almost within 
rifle-shot of Gladwyn's quarters was Pontiac, the arch-enemy 
of the English and the prime mover in the jilot ; and the 
sequel proved how " contemptible " was the figure which the 
savages made ! 

From North to South, and from East to West, the work of 
extirpation soon began. Numbers of English traders, on their 
way from all quarters of the country to the different posts, were 
taken, and their goods made the prize of the conquerors. Large 
bodies of savages were seen collecting around the various forts, 
yet, strange to say, without exciting any serious alarm. When 
the blow was struck, which was nearly at the same time, nine 
out of the twelve British posts were surprised and destroyed ! 
It would doubtless be interesting to notice in detail these nine 
surprisals ; but it is foreign to our purpose to give in full more 
than one, that of Michilimackinac. We may say, however, that, 
in general, quite as much was effected by strategem as by force, 
and that, apparently, by a preconcerted system indicative of the 
far-reaching superintendence of the great leader. 

This chapter may be appropriately closed with the following 
extracts from speeches made by Pontiac to the French of Detroit 
during the siege of that place : 

" I do not doubt, my brothers, that this war is very trouble- 
some to you ; for our warriors are continually passing and re- 
passing through your settlement. I am sony for it. Do not 
think that I approve of the damage that is done by them ; and, as 
a proof of this, remember the war with the Foxes, and the part 
which I took in it. It is now seventeen years since the Ojibwas 
of Michilimackinac, combined with the Sacs and Foxes, came 
down to destroy you. Who then defended you ? Was it not I, 
and my young men ? Michinac, great chief of all these nations, 
said in council that he would carry to his village the head of 
your commandant; that he would eat his heart and drink his 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 51 



blood. Did I not take your part ? Did I not go to his camp 
and say to him, that if he wished lo kill ihe French he must first 
kill me and my warriors ? Did I not assist you in routing them 
and driving them away? And. now you think that I would turn 
my arms against you I No, my brothers ; I am the same French 
Pontiac who assisted you seventeen years ago ; I am a French- 
man, and I wish to die a Frenchman ; and I now repeat to 3^ou, 
that you and I are one — that it is for both our interests that I 
siiould be avenged. Let me alone. I do not ask you for aid ; 
for it is not in your power to give it. I only ask provisions for 
myself and men. Yet, if you are inclined to assist me, I shall 
not refuse you. It would please me, and you yourselves would 
be sooner rid of your troubles ; for I promise you that as soon as 
the English are driven out, we will go back to our villages, and 
there await the arrival of our French fi^ther. You have heard 
what I have to say ; remain at peace, and I will watch that no 
harm shall be done to you, either by my men or by the other 
Indians." 

The following address was made at a more advanced stage 
of the siege, when Pontiac had become anxious to secure the 
French as auxiliaries in the war. Throwing a war-belt into their 
midst, he said : 

" My brothers, how long will you suffer this bad flesh to re- 
main upon your lands ? I have told you before, and I now tell 
)'Ou again, that when I took up the hatchet, it was for your good. 
This year the English must all perish throughout Canada. The 
Master of Life commands it, and you, who know him better than 
we, wish to oppose his will. Until now I have said nothing on 
this matter. I have not urged you to take part with us in the 
war. It would have been enough had you been content to sit 
quiet on your mats, looking on, while we were fighting for you. 
But you have not done so. You call 3'ourselves our friends, and 
yet you assist the English with provisions, and go about as spies 
among our villages. This must not continue. You must be 
either wholly French or wholly English. If you are French, 
take up that war-belt and lift the hatchet with us ; but if you are 



52 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



English, then we declare war upon you. My brothers, I know 
this is a hard thing. We are all alike children of our great 
father, the King of France, and it is hard to fight among brethren 
for the sake of dogs. But there is no choice. Look upon the 
belt, and let us hear your answer." 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. 53 



CHAPTER IV. 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. 

THE following description of Michilimackinac is taken from 
Mr. Parkman's very excellent work entitled " History of 
the Conspiracy of Pontiac." " It is drawn," says the writer 
" from traditional accounts, aided by a personal examination of 
the spot, where the stumps of the pickets and the foundations 
of the houses may still be traced." 

"In the Spring of the year 1763, before the war broke out, 
several English traders went up to Michilimackinac, some adopt- 
ing the old route of the Ottawa, and others that of Detroit and 
the lakes. We will follow one of the latter on his adventurous 
progress. Passing the fort and settlement of Detroit, he soon 
enters Lake St. Clair, which seems like a broad basin filled to 
overflowing, while, along its far-distant verge, a faint line of 
forest separates the water from the sky. He crosses the lake, 
and his voyageurs next urge his canoe against the current of 
the great river above. At length Lake Huron opens before 
him, stretching its liquid expanse, like an ocean, to the farthest 
horizon. His canoe skirts the eastern shore of Michigan, where 
the forest rises like a wall from the water's edge ; and. as he 
advances northward, an endless line of stiff and shaggy fir-trees, 
hung with long mosses, fringes the shore with an aspect of a 
monotonous desolation. In the space of two or three weeks, if 
his Canadians labor well, and no accident occurs, the trader 
approaches the end of his voyage. Passing on his right the ex- 
tensive island of Bois Blanc, he sees, nearly in front, the beau 
tiful island of Mackinac — rising, with its white cliffs and green 
foliage, from the broad breast of the waters. He does not steer 



54 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



toward it, for at that day the Indians were its only tenants ; but 
keeps along the main shore to the left, while his voyageurs raise 
tlieir song and chorus. Doubling a point, he sees before him the 
red flag of England swelling lazily in the wind, and the palisades 
and wooden bastions of Fort Michilimackinac, standing close 
upon the margin of the lake. On the beach, canoes are drawn 
up, and Canadians and Indians are idly lounging. A little 
beyond the fort is a cluster of the white Canadian houses, roofed 
with bark, and protected by fences of strong round pickets. 

" The trader enters at the gate, and sees before him an ex- 
tensive square area, surrounded by high palisades. Numerous 
houses, barracks, and other buildings form a smaller square 
within, and in the vacant space which they inclose appear the 
red uniforms of British soldiers, the gray coats of Canadians, 
and the gaudy Indian blankets, mingled in picturesque confusion, 
while a multitude of squaws, with children of every hue, stroll 
restlessly about the place. Such was Fort Michilimackinac in 
1763. Its name, which in the Algonquin tongue signifies the 
Great Turtle, was first, from a fancied resemblance, applied to 
the neighboring island, and thence to the fort. 

" Though buried in a wilderness, Michilimackinac was still of 
no recent origin. As early as 167 1, the Jesuits had established a 
mission near the place, and a military force was not long in fol- 
lowing ; for under the French dominion the priest and the soldier 
went hand in hand. Neither toil nor suffering, nor all the 
tenors of the wilderness, could damp the zeal of the undaunted 
missionary ; and the restless ambition of France was always on 
the alert to seize every point of advantage, and avail itself of 
every means to gain ascendancy over the forest tribes. Besides 
Michilimackinac, there were two other posts in this northern 
region — Green Bay and the Sault Ste. Marie. Both were founded 
at an early period, and both presented the same characteristic 
features — a mission house, a fort, and a cluster of Canadian 
dwellings. They had been originally garrisoned by small parties 
of militia, who, bringing their families with them, settled on the 
spot, and were founders of these little colonies. Michilimack- 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. 55 



inac, much the largest of the three, contaiiied thirty families with- 
in the palisades of the fort, and about as many more without. 
Besides its military value, it was ini|)ortant as a center of the fur- 
trade 3 for it was here that the traders engaged their men, and 
sent out their goods in canoes, under the charge of subor- 
dinates, to the more distant regions of the Mississippi and the 
North-west. 

"The Indians near Michilimackinac were the Ojibwas and 
Ottawas, the former of whom claimed the eastern section of Mich- 
i-ran, and the latter the western, their respective portions being 
separated by a line drawn southward from the fort itself The 
principal village of the Ojibwas contained about a hundred 
warriors, and stood upon the island of Michilimackinac, now 
called Mackinac. There was another smaller village near the 
head of Thunder Bay. The Ottawas, to the number of two 
hundred and fifty warriors, lived at the settlement of L'Arbre 
Croche, on the shores of Lake Michigan, some distance south- 
west of the fort. This place was then the seat of the old Jesuit 
Mission of St. Ignace, originally placed by Father Marquette on 
the northern side of the straits. Many of the Ottawas were 
nominal Catholics. They were all somewhat improved from 
their original savage condition, living in log-houses, and culti- 
vating corn and vegetables to such an extent as to supply the 
fort with provision, besides satisfying their own wants. The 
Ojibwas, on the other hand, were not in the least degree re- 
moved from their primitive barbarism." 

At this time both these tribes had received from Pontiac the 
war-belt of black and purple wampum, and the painted hatchet, 
and had pledged themselves to join in the contest. Before the 
end of May the Ojibwas or Chippewas received word that the 
blow had already been struck at Detroit, and, wrought up to the 
highest pitch of excitement and emulation, resolved that peace 
shnuld last no longer. Eager to reap all the glory of the victory, 
or prompted by jealousy, this tribe neither communicated to the 
Ottawas the news which had come to them, nor their own reso- 
lution to make an immediate assault upon Michilimackinac. 



56 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



Hence the Ottawas, as we shall also learn from Henry's account, 
had no part in that bloody tragedy. There were other tribes, 
however, which, attracted by rumors of impending war, had 
gathered at Michilimackinac, and which took part in the 
struggle. 

There is a discrepancy between the official report of Captain 
Ethrington, Commander of the post, and Henry's statement, — 
the former making the garrison to consist of thirty-five men, 
with their officers ; and the latter, as we shall see, of ninety. 
We give the reader the facts just as we find them recorded, 
leaving him to reconcile this difference in his own way. Per- 
haps, as Parkman suggests, Henry intended to include, in his 
enumeration, all the inhabitants of the fort, both soldiers and 
Canadians. 

We left Henry at the moment of his arrival at the fort. 
We must now allow him to go on with his story ; for he is far 
better qualified for that task than we are : 

"When I reached Michilimackinac, I found several other 
traders who had arrived before me, from different parts of the 
country, and who, in general, declared the disposition of the 
Indians to be hostile to the English, and even apprehended 
some attack. M. Laurent Ducharme distinctly informed Major 
Ethrington that a plan was absolutely conceived for destroying 
him, his garrison, and all the English in the upper country; 
but the commandant, believing this and other reports to be 
without foundation, proceeding only from idle or ill-disposed 
persons, and of a tendency to do mischief, expressed much dis- 
pleasure against M. Ducharme, and threatened to send the next 
person who should bring a story of the same kind a prisoner to 
Detroit. 

"The garrison at this time consisted of ninety privates, 
two subalterns, and the commandant, and the English mer- 
chants at the fort were four in number. Thus strong, few en- 
tertained anxiety concerning the Indians, who had no weapons 
but small arms. 

" Meanwhile the Indians from every quarter were daily 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. 57 



assembling in usual numbers, but with every appearance of 
friendship, frequenting the fort and disposing of their peltries 
in such a manner as to dissipate almost any one's fears. For 
myself, on one occasion I took the liberty of observing to 
Major Ethrington that, in my judgment, no confidence ought 
to be placed in tliem, and that I was informed no less than 
four hundred lay around the fort. In return, the major only 
rallied me on my timidity ; and it is to be confessed that, if 
this officer neglected admonition on his part, so did I on mine. 
Shortly after my first arrival at Michilimackinac, in the pre- 
ceding year, a Chippewa named VVa'wa'tam began to come 
often to my house, betraying in his demeanor strong marks of 
personal regard. After this had continued for some time, he 
came on a certain day, bringing with him his whole family; 
and, at the same time, a large present, consisting of skins, 
sugar, and dried meat. Having laid these in a heap, he com- 
menced a speech, in which he informed me that, some years 
before, he had observed a fast, devoting himself, according to 
the custom of his nation, to solitude and the mortification of 
his body, in the hope to obtain from the Great Spirit protec- 
tion through all his days ; that, on this occasion, he had 
dreamed of adopting an Englishman as his son, brother, and 
friend; that, from the moment in which he first beheld me, he 
had recognized me as the person whom the Great Spirit had 
been pleased to point out to him for a brother; that he hoped 
that I would not refuse his present, and that he should forever 
regard me as one of his family. 

"I could do no otherwise than accept the present, and de- 
clare my willingness to have so good a man as this appeared 
to be for my friend and brother. I offered a present in return 
for that which I had received, which Wawatam accepted, and 
then, thanking me for the favor which he said that I had ren- 
dered him, he left me, and soon after set out on his Winter's 
hunt. 

"Twelve months had now elapsed since the occurrence of 
this incident, and I had almost forgotten the person of my 



58 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



brother, when, on the second day of June, Wawatam came 
again to my house, in a temper of mind visibly melancholy 
and thoughtful. He told me that he had just returned from 
his 7L'intering-groii/id, and I asked after his health ; but, without 
answering my question, he went on to say that he was very 
sorry to find me returned from the Sault ; that he had intended 
to go to that place himself, immediately after his arrival at 
Michilimackinac ; and that he wished me to go there along 
with him and his family the next morning. To all this he 
joined an inquiry whether or not the commandant had heard 
bad news, adding that, during the Winter, he had himself been 
frequently disturbed with t/ic noise of evil birds; and further 
suggesting that there were numerous Indians near the fort, 
many of whom had never shown themselves within it. Wawa- 
tam was about forty-five years of age, of an excellent character 
among his nation, and a chief. 

" Referring much of what I heard to the peculiarities of the 
Indian character, I did not pay all the attention which they 
will be found to have deserved to the entreaties and remarks 
of my visitor. I answered that I could not think of going to 
the Sault so soon as the next morning, but would follow him 
there after the arrival of my clerks. Finding himself unable to 
prevail with me, he withdrew for that day ; but early the next 
morning he came again, bringing with him his wife and a 
present of dried meat. At this interview, after stating that he 
had several packs of beaver, for which he intended to deal 
with me, he expressed a second time his apprehensions from 
the numerous Indians who were around the fort, and earnestly 
pressed me to consent to an immediate departure for the Sault. 
As a reason for this particular request, he assured me that all 
the Indians proposed to come in a body that day to the fort, 
to demand liquor of the commandant, and that he wished me 
to be gone before they should grow intoxicated. I had made, 
at the period to which I am now referring, so much progress 
in the language in which Wawatam addressed me, as to be able 
to hold an ordinary conversation in it; but the Indian manner 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. 59 



of speech is so extravagantly figurative, that it is only for a 
ver)' perfect master to follow and comprehend it entirely. Had 
I been further advanced in this respect, I think that I should 
have gathered so much information from this, my friendly 
monitor, as would have put me into possession of the designs 
of the enemy, and enabled me to save others as well as myself; 
as it was, it unfortunately happened that I turned a deaf ear 
to every thing, leaving Wawatam and his wife, after long and 
patienf, but ineffectual efforts, to depart alone, with dejected 
countenances, and not before they had each let fall some tears. 

" In the course of the same day, I observed that the Indians 
came in great numbers into the fort, purchasing tomahawks 
(small axes of one pound weight), and frequently desiring to 
see silver arm-bands, and other valuable ornaments, of which 
I had a large quantity for sale. These ornaments, however, 
they in no instance purchased; but, after turning them over, 
left them, saying that they would call again the next day. 
Their motive, as it afterward appeared, was no other than the 
very artful one of discovering, by requesting to see them, the 
particular places of their deposit, so that they might lay their 
hands on them, in the moment of pillage, with the greater 
certainty and dispatch. 

"At night I turned in my mind the visits of Wawatam ; but, 
though they were calculated to excite uneasiness, nothing 
induced me to believe that serious mischief was at hand. 

"The next day, being the 4th of June, was the king's 
birthday. The morning was sultry. A Chippewa came to tell 
me that his nation was going to play at bag'gat'iway, with the 
Sacs or Saakies, another Indian nation, for a high wager. He 
invited me to witness the sport, adding that the commandant 
was to be there, and would be on the side of the Chippewas. 
In consequence of this information, I went to the command- 
ant, and expostulated with him a little, representing that the 
Indians might possibly have some sinister end in view ; but 
the commandant only smiled at my suspicions." 

The game of baggatiway, which the Indians played upon 



6o OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 

that memorable occasion, was the most exciting sport in which 
the red man could engage. It was played with bat and ball. 
The bat, so called, was about four feet in length, and an inch 
in diameter. It was made of the toughest material that could 
be found. At one end it was curved, and terminated in a sort 
of racket, or perhaps more properly a ring, in which a net- 
work of cord was loosely woven. The players were not allowed 
to touch the ball with the hand, but caught it in this network 
at the end of the bat. At either end of the ground a tall post 
was planted. These posts marked the stations of the rival 
parties, and were sometimes a mile apart. The object of each 
party was to defend its own post and carry the ball to that of 
the adversary. 

At the beginning of the game the main body of the players 
assemble half-way between tlie two posts. Every eye sparkles 
and every cheek is already aglow with excitement. The ball is 
tossed high into the air, and a general struggle ensues to secure it 
as it descends. He who succeeds starts for the goal of the adver- 
sary holding it high above his head. The opposite party, with merry 
yells, are swift to pursue. His course is intercepted, and rather 
than see the ball taken from him, he throws it, as the boy throws 
a stone from a sling, as far toward the goal of the adversary as 
he can. An adversary in the game catches it, and sends it 
whizzing back in the opposite direction. Hither and thither it 
goes; BOW far to the right, now as far to the left; now near to 
'he one, now as near to the other goal ; the whole band crowding 
continually after it in the wildest confusion, until, finally, some 
agile figure, more fleet of foot than others, succeeds in bearing it 
to the goal of the opposite party. 

Persons now living upon this island, who have frequently 
seen this game played by the Indians, and themselves partici- 
pated in it, inform the writer that often a whole day is insufficient 
to decide the contest. When such is the case, the following day 
is taken, and the game begun anew. As many as six or seven hun- 
dred Indians sometimes engage in a single game, while it may be 
played by fifty. In the heat of the contest, when all are running 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. 6l 



at their greatest speed, if one stumbles and falls, fifty or' a hun- 
dred, who are in close pursuit and unable to stop, pile over him 
forming a mound of human bodies ; and frequently players are 
so bruised as to be unable to proceed in the game. 

This game, with its attendant noise and violence, was well 
calculated to divert the attention of officers and men, and thus 
permit the Indians to take possession of the fort. To make 
their success more certain, they prevailed upon as many as they 
could to come out of the fort, while at the same time their squaws 
wrapped in blankets, beneath which they concealed the murder- 
ous weapons, were placed inside the inclosure. The plot was so 
ingeniously laid that no one suspected clanger. The discipline 
of the garrison was relaxed, and the soldiers permitted to stroll 
about and view the sport, without weapons of defense. And even 
when the ball, as if by chance, was lifted high in the air, to 
descend inside the pickets, and was followed by four hundred 
savages, all eager, all struggling, all shouting, in the unrestrained 
pursuit of a rude, athletic exercise, no alarm was felt until the 
shrill war-whoop told the startled garrison that the slaughter had 
actually begun. 

Heniy continues : " I did not go myself to see the match 
which was now to be played without the fort, because, there 
being a canoe prepared to depart on the following day, for 
Montreal, I employed m3'self in writing letters to my friends ; 
and even when a fellow-trader, Mr. Tracy, happened to call upon 
me, saying that another canoe had just arrived from Detroit, and 
proposing that I should go with him to the beach, to inquire the 
news, it so happened that I still remained, to finish my letters, 
promising to follow Mr. Tracy in the course of a few minutes. 
Mr. Tracy had not gone more than twenty paces from my door, 
when I heard an Indian war-cry, and a noise of general con- 
fusion. Going instantly to my window, I saw a crowd of In- 
dians, within the fort, furiously cutting down and scalping every 
Englishman they found. In particular I witnessed the fate of 
Lieutenant Jemette. 

" I had, in the room in which I was, a fowling-piece, loaded 



62 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



with swan-shot. This I immediately seized, and held it for a 
few minutes, waiting to hear the drum beat to arms. In this 
dreadful interval I saw several of my countrymen fall, and more 
than one struggling between the knees of an Indian, who, hold- 
ing him in this manner, scalped him while yet living. 

" At length, disappointed in the hope of seeing resistance 
made to the enemy, and sensible, of course, that no effort of my 
own unassisted arm could avail against four hundred Indians, I 
thought only of seeking shelter. Amid the slaughter which was 
raging, I observed many of the Canadian inhabitants of the fort 
calmly looking on, neither opposing tlie Indians nor suffering 
injury ; and, from this circumstance, I conceived a hope of 
finding .security in their houses. 

" Between the yard-door of my own house and of M. Lang- 
lade, my next neighbor, there was only a low fence, over which 
I easily climbed At my entrance I found the whole family 
at the windows, gazing at the scene of blood before them. I 
addressed myself immediately to M. Langlade, begging that he 
would put me into some place of safety until the heat of the 
affiiir should be over, an act of charity by which he might per- 
haps preserve me from the general massacre ; but, while I uttered 
my petition, M. Langlade, who had looked for a moment at me, 
turned again to the window, shrugging his shoulders, and inti- 
mating that he could do nothing for me : ' Que voudriez — vous 
que fefi fcrais ? ' 

" This was a moment for despair ; but, the next, a Pani wo- 
man, a slave of M. Langlade, beckoned me to follow her. She 
brought me to a door, which she opened, desiring me to enter, 
and telling me that it led to the garret, where I must go and 
conceal myself. I joyfully obeyed her directions ; and she, hav- 
ing followed me up to the garret door, locked it after me, and 
with great presence of mind took away the key. 

"This shelter obtained, if shelter I could hope to find it, I 
was naturally anxious to know what might still be passing with- 
out. Through an aperture, which afforded me a view of the 
area of the fort, I beheld, in shapes the foulest and most terrible, 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. 63 



the ferocious triumplis of barbarian conquerors. The dead were 
scalped and mangled ; the dying were writhing and shrieking, 
under the unsatiated knife and tomahawk ; and, from the bodies 
of some, ripped open, their butchers were drinking tlie blood, 
scooped up in the hollow of joined hands, and quaffed amid 
shouts of rage and victory. I was shaken, not only with horror, 
but with fear. The sufferings which I witnessed, I seemed on 
the point of experiencing. No long time elapsed before, every 
one being destroyed who could be found, there was a general 
cry of 'All is finished!' At the same instant I heard some of 
the Indians enter the house in which I was. The garret was 
separated from the room below only by a layer of single boards, 
at once the flooring of the one and the ceiling of the other. I 
could therefore hear every thing that passed ; and the Indians 
no sooner came in than they inquired whether or not any 
Englishmen were in the house. M. Langlade replied, that 
' he could not say ; ' he ' did not know of any, ' — answers in 
which he did not exceed the truth ; for the Pani woman had not 
only hidden me by stealth, but kept my secret, and her own. M. 
Langlade was therefore, as I presume, as far from a wish to 
destroy me as he was careless about saving me, when he added 
to these answers, that 'they might examine for themselves, and 
would soon be satisfied as to the object of their question.' 
Saying this, he brought them to the garret door. 

"The state of my mind will be imagined. Arrived at the 
door, some delay was occasioned by the absence of the key, and 
a few moments were thus allowed me in which to look around 
me for a hiding place. In one corner of the garret was a heap 
of those vessels of birch bark used in maple-sugar making, as I 
have recently described. 

" The door was unlocked, and opening, and the Indians as- 
cending the stairs, before I had completely crept into a small 
opening which presented itself at one end of the heap. An 
instant later four Indians entered the room, all armed with tom- 
ahawks, and all besmeared with blood upon every part of their 
bodies. 



64 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



" The die apjjeared to be cast. I could scarcely breathe, but 
1 thought that the throbbing of my heart occasioned a noise 
loud enough to betray me. The Indians walked in every direc- 
tion about the garret, and one of them approached me so closely 
that at a particular moment had he put forth his hand he must 
have touched me. Still I remained undiscovered, a circum- 
stance to which the dark color of my clothes, and the want of 
light in a room which had no window, and in the corner in which 
I was, must have contributed. In a word, after taking several 
turns in the room, during which they told M. Langlade how 
many they had killed, and how many scalps they had taken, they 
returned down stairs, and I, with sensations not to be expressed, 
heard the door, which was the barrier between me and my fate, 
locked for the second time. 

'* There was a feather-bed on the floor, and on this, exhausted 
as I was by the agitation of my mind, I threw myself down and 
fell asleep. In this state I remained till the dark of the evening, 
when I was awakened by a second opening of the door. The 
person that now entered was M. Langlade's wife, who was much 
surprised at finding me, but advised me not to be uneasy, ob- 
serving that the Indians had killed most of the English, but that 
she hoped I might myself escape. A .shower of rain having 
begun to fall, she had come to stop a hole in the roof. On her 
going away, I begged her to send me a little water to drink, 
which she did. 

"As night was now advancing, I continued to lie on the bed, 
ruminating on my condition, but unable to discover a source 
from which I could hope for life. A flight to Detroit had no 
probable chance of success. The distance, from Michilimack- 
inac was four hundred miles ; I was without provisions ; and 
the whole length of the road lay through Indian countries, 
countries of an enemy in arms, where the first man whom I 
should meet would kill me. To stay where I was, threatened 
nearly the same issue. As before, fatigue of mind, and not 
tranquillity, suspended my cares, and procured me further sleep. 

"The respite which sleep afforded me, during the night, was 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. 65 



put to an end by the return of morning. I was again on the 
rack of apprehension. At sunrise I heard the family stirring, 
and, presently after, Indian voices, informing M. Langlade that 
they haa not found my hapless self among the dead, and that 
they supposed me to be somewhere concealed. M. Langlade 
appeared, from what followed, to be, by this time, acquainted 
with the place of my retreat, of which no doubt he had been 
informed by his wife. The poor woman, as soon as the Indians 
mentioned me, declared to her husband, in the French tongue, 
that he should no longer keep me in his house, but deliver me 
up to my pursuers; giving as a reason for this measure, that 
should the Indians discover his instrumentality in my conceal- 
ment, they might avenge it on her children, and that it was better 
that I should die than they. M. Langlade resisted, at first, this 
sentence of his wife's, but soon suffered her to prevail, informing 
the Indians that he had been told I was in the house, that 
I had come there without his knowledge, and that he would 
put me into their hands. This was no sooner expressed than he 
began to ascend the stairs, the Indians following upon his 
heels. 

" I now resigned myself to the fate with which I was 
menaced ; and, regarding every attempt at concealment as vain, 
I arose from the bed, and presented myself full in view to the 
Indians who were entering the room. They were all in a state 
of intoxication, and entirely naked, except about the middle. 
One of them, named, Wenniway, whom I had prt-viously known, 
and who was upward of six feet in height, had his entire face and 
body covered with charcoal and grease, only that a white spot of 
two inches in diameter encircled either eye. This man, walking 
up to me, seized me with one hand by the collar of the coat, 
while in the other he held a large carving-knife, as if to plunge 
it into my breast ; his eyes, meanwhile, were fixed steadfastly on 
mine. At length, after some seconds of the most anxious sus- 
pense, he dropped his arm, saying, ' I won't kill you !' To 
this he added, that he had been frequently engaged in wars 
against the English, and had brought away many scalps ; that, 

i 



66 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



on a certain occasion, he had lost a brother whose name was 
Musinigon, and that I sliould be called after him. 

" A reprieve, upon any terms, placed me among the living, 
and gave me back the sustaining voice of hope ; but Wenniway 
ordered me down-stairs, and there informing me that I was to be 
taken to his cabin, where, and indeed everywhere else, the Indians 
were all mad with liquor, death again was threatened, and not as 
possible only, but as certain. I mentioned my fears on this subject 
to M. Langlade, begging him to represent the danger to my mas- 
ter. M. Langlade, in this instance, did not withhold his compas- 
sion, and Wenniway immediately consented that I should remain 
where I was, until he found another opportunity to take me away. 

"Thus far secure, 1 reascended my garret stairs, in order to 
place myself the farthest possible out of the reach of insult 
from drunken Indians ; but I had not remained there more than 
an hour, when I was called to the room below, in which was an 
Indian, who said that I must go with him out of the fort, 
Wenniway having sent him to fetch me. This man, as well as 
Wenniway himself, I had seen before. In the preceding year I 
had allowed him to take goods on credit, for which he was still 
in my debt ; and, some short time previous to the surprise of 
the fort, he had said, upon my upbraiding him with want of hon- 
esty, that ' he would pay me before long !' This speech now 
came fresh into my memory, and led me to suspect that the 
fellow had formed a design against my life. I communicated the 
suspicion to M. Langlade ; but he gave for answer, that I was not 
my own master, and must do as I was ordered. 

"The Indian, on his part, directed that before I left the 
house I should undress myself, declaring that my coat and shirt 
would become him better than they did me. His pleasure, in 
this respect, being complied with, no other alternative was left 
me than either to go out naked, or to put on the clothes of the 
Indian, which he freely gave me in exchange. His motive for 
thus stripping me of my own apparel, was no other, as I after- 
ward learned, than this, that it might not be stained with blood 
when he should kill me. 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. ^"J 



" I was now told to proceed ; and my driver followed me close 
until I had passed the gate of the fort, when I turned toward 
the spot where I knew the Indians to be encamped. This, how- 
ever, did not suit the purpose of my enemy, who seized me by 
the arm, and drew me violently in the opposite direction, to the 
distance of fifty yards above the fort. Here, finding that I was 
approaching the bushes and sand-hills, I determined to proceed 
no farther ; but told the Indian that I believed he meant to mur- 
der me, and that if so, he might as well strike where I was as at 
any greater distance. He replied, with coolness, that my suspi- 
cions were just, and that he meant to pay me in this manner for 
my goods. At the same time he produced a knife, and held me 
in a position to receive the intended blow. Both this, and that 
which followed, were necessarily the affair of a moment. By 
some effort, too sudden and too little dependent on thought to 
be explained or remembered, I was enabled to arrest his arm 
and give him a sudden push, by which I turned him from me, 
and released myself from his grasp. This was no sooner done, 
than I ran toward the fort with all the swiftness in my power, 
the Indian following me, and I expecting every moment to feel 
his knife. I succeeded in my flight, and, on entering the fort, I 
saw Wenniway standing in the midst of the area, and to him I 
hastened for protection. Wenniway desired the Indian to desist ; 
but the latter pursued me around him, making several strokes at 
me with his knife, and foaming at the mouth, with rage at the 
repeated failure of his purpose. At length Wenniway drew near 
to M. Langlade's house, and, the door being open, I ran into it. 
The Indian followed me ; but on my entering the house, he vol- 
untarily abandoned the pursuit. 

" Preserved so often and so unexpectedly, as it had now 
been rhy lot to be, I returned to my garret with a strong incli- 
nation to believe that, through the will of an overruling power, 
no Indian enemy could do me hurt ; but new trials, as I believed, 
were at hand, when, at ten o'clock in the evening, I was aroused 
from sleep and once more desired to descend the stairs. Not 
less, however, to my satisfaction than surprise, I was suniraone4 



68 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



only to meet Major Ethrington, Mr. Bostwick, and Lieutenan* 
Lesslie, who were in the room below. These gentlemen had 
been taken prisoners, while looking at the game without the fort, 
and immediately stripped of all their clothes. They were now 
sent into the fort, under the charge of Canadians, because, the 
Indians having resolved on getting drunk, the chiefs were appre- 
hensive that they would be murdered, if they continued in the 
camp. Lieutenant Jemette and seventy soldiers had been killed ; 
and but twenty Englishmen, including soldiers, were still alive. 
These were all within the fort, together with nearly three hun- 
dred Canadians, belonging to the canoes, etc. 

"These being our numbers, myself and others proposed to 
Major Etherington to make an effort for regaining possession 
of the fort, and maintaining it against the Indians. The Jesuit 
missionary was consulted on the project ; but he discouraged us 
by his representations, not only of the merciless treatment 
which we must expect from the Indians, should they regain 
their superiority, but of the little dependence which was to be 
placed upon our Canadian auxiliaries. Thus the fort and pris- 
oners remained in the hands of the Indians, though, through 
the whole night, the prisoners and whites were in actual posses- 
sion, and they were without the gates. 

"That whole night, or the greater part of it, was passed in 
mutual condolence; and my fellow-prisoners shared my garret. 
In the morning, being again called down, I found my master, 
Wenniway, and was desired to follow him. He led me to a 
small house within the fort, where, in a narrow room, and 
almost dark, I found Mr. Ezekiel Solomons, an Englishman 
from Detroit, and a soldier, all prisoners. With these, I re- 
mained in painful suspense as to the scene that was next to 
present itself, till ten o'clock in the forenoon, when an Indian 
arrived, and presently marched us to the lake-side, where a 
canoe appeared ready for departure, and in which we found 
that we were to embark. 

"Our voyage, full of doubt as it was, would have com- 
menced immediately, but that one of the Indians, who was to 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. 69 



be of the party, was absent. His arrival was to be waited for, 
and this occasioned a very long delay, during which we were 
exposed to a keen north-east wind. An old shirt was all that 
covered me. I suffered much from the cold, and in this extrem- 
ity, M. Langlade coming down to the beach, I asked him for 
a blanket, promising, if I lived, to pay him for it at any price 
he pleased ; but the answer I received was this, that he could 
let me have no blanket, unless there were some one to be 
security for the payment. For myself, he observed, I had no 
longer any property in that country. I had no more to say to 
M. Langlade ; but, presently seeing another Canadian, named 
John Cuchoise, I addressed him a similar request, and was not 
refused. Naked as I was, and rigorous as was the weather, but 
for the blanket I must have perished. At noon our party was 
all collected, the prisoners all embarked, and we steered for 
the Isles du Castor, in Lake Michigan. 

"The soldier who was our companion in misfortune was 
made fast to a bar of the canoe, by a rope tied around his 
neck, as is the manner of the Indians in transporting their 
prisoners. The rest were left unconfined; but a paddle was 
put into each of our hands, and we were made to use it. The 
Indians in the canoe were seven in number ; the prisoners four. 
I had left, as it will be recollected, Major Etherington, Lieuten- 
ant Lesslie, and Mr. Bostwick, at M. Langlade's, and was now 
joined in misery with Mr. Ezekiel Solomons, the soldier, and 
the Englishman, who had newly arrived from Detroit. This 
was on the sixth day of June. The fort was taken on the 
fourth ; I surrendered myself to Wennivvay on the fifth ; and 
this was the third day of our distress. 

"We were bound, as I have said, for the Isles du Castor, 
which lie in the mouth of Lake Michigan ; and we should have 
crossed the lake but that a thick fog came on, on account of 
which the Indians deemed it safer to keep the shore close under 
their lee. We therefore approached the lands of the Ottawas, 
and their village of L'Arbre Croche, already mentioned as 
lying about twenty miles to the westward of Michilimackinac, 



70 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



on the opposite side of the tongue of land on which the fort 
is built. 

" Every half-hour the Indians gave their war-whoops, one 
for every prisoner in their canoe. This is a general custom, 
by the aid of which all the Indians within heari ng are apprised 
of the number of prisoners they are carrying. In this manner 
we reached Wagoshense (Fox Point), a long jDoint, stretching 
westward into the lake, and which the Ottawas make a carry- 
ing-place, to avoid going round it. It is distant eighteen miles 
from Michilimackinac. After the Indians had made their war- 
whoop, as before, an Ottawa appeared upon the beach, who 
made signs that we should land. In consequence, we ap- 
proached. The Ottawa asked the news, and kept the Chippe- 
was in further conversation, till we were within a few yards of 
the lartd, and in shallow water. At this moment, a hundred 
men rushed upon us from among the bushes, and dragged 
all the prisoners out of the canoes, amid a terrifying shout. 

" We now believed that our last sufferings were approach- 
ing ; but no sooner were we fairly on shore, and on our legs, 
than the chiefs of the party advanced and gave each of us their 
hands, telling us that they were our friends, and Ottawas whom 
the Chippewas had insulted by destroying the English without 
consulting with them on the affair. They added that what they 
had done was for the purpose of saving our lives, the Chippe- 
was having been carrying us to the Isles du Castor only to 
kill and devour us. 

"The reader's imagination is here distracted by the variety 
of our fortunes, and he may well paint to himself the state of 
mind of those who sustained them ; who were the sport, or the 
victims, of a series of events more like dreams than realities — 
more like fiction than truth ! It was not long before we were 
embarked again, in the canoes of the Ottawas, who, the same 
evening, re-landed us at Michilimackinac, where they marched 
us into the fort, in view of the Chippewas, confounded at 
beholding the Ottawas espouse a side opposite to their own. 
The Ottawas, who had accompanied us in sufficient numbers, 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. 7^ 



took possession of the fort. We, who had changed masters, 
but were still prisoners, were lodged in the house of the com- 
mandant, and strictly guarded. 

"Early the next morning, a General Council was held, in 
which the Chippewas complained much of the conduct of the 
Ottawas, in robbing them of their prisoners ; alleging that all 
the Indians, the Ottawas alone excepted, were at war with the 
EngUsh; that Pontiac had taken Detroit; that the King of 
France had awoke, and re-possessed himself of Quebec and 
Montreal, and that the English were meeting destruction, not 
only at Michilimackinac, but in every other part of the world. 
From all this they inferred that it became the Ottawas to 
restore the prisoners, and to join in the war ; and the speech 
was followed by large presents, being part of the plunder of 
the fort, and which was previously heaped in the center of the 
room. The Indians rarely make their answers till the day 
after they have heard the arguments offered. They did not 
depart from their custom on this occasion; and the Council, 
therefore, adjourned. 

"We, the prisoners whose fate was thus in controversy, 
were unacquainted, at the time, with this transaction; and 
therefore enjoyed a night of tolerable tranquillity, not in the 
least suspecting the reverse which was preparing for us. Which 
of the arguments of the Chippewas, or whether or not all 
were deemed valid by the Ottawas, I can not say, but the 
Council was resumed at an early hour in the morning, and, 
after several speeches had been made in it, the prisoners were 
sent for, and returned to the Chippewas. 

"The Ottawas, who now gave us into the hands of the 
Chippewas, had themselves declared that the latter designed no 
other than to kill us, and tnake broth of us. The Chippewas, 
as soon as we were restored to them, marched us to a village of 
their own, situate on the point which is below the fort, and put 
us into a lodge, already the prison of fourteen soldiers, tied two 
and two, with each a rope around his neck, and made fast to a 
pole which might be called the supporter of the building. 



T2 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



" I was left untied ; but I passed a night sleepless, and full 
of wretchedness. My bed was the bare ground, and I was 
again reduced to an old shirt, as njy entire apparel ; the blanket 
which I had received, through the generosity of M. Cuchoise, 
having been taken from me among the Ottawas, when they 
seized upon myself and the others, at Wagoshense. I was, 
besides, in want of food, having for two days eaten nothing. I 
confess that in the canoe, with the Chippewas, I was offered 
bread — but bread, with what accompaniment ! They had a loaf, 
which they cut with the same knives that they had employed in 
the massacre — knives still covered with blood. The blood they 
moistened with spittle, and, rubbing it on the bread, offered this 
for food to their prisoners, telling them to eat the blood of 
their countrymen. 

" Such was my situation on the morning of the seventh of 
June, in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty-three. 
But a few hours produced an event which gave still a new color 
to my lot. Toward noon, when the great war-chief, in company 
with Wenniway, was seated at the opposite end of the lodge, my 
friend and brother, Wawatam, suddenly came in. During the 
four days preceding, I had often wondered what had become of 
him. In passing by, he gave me his hand, but went immediately 
toward the great chief, by the side of whom and Wenniway he 
sat himself down. The most uninterrupted silence prevailed ; 
each smoked his pipe ; and, this done, Wawatam arose and left 
the lodge, saying to me, as he passed, 'Take courage.' 

"An hour elapsed, during which several chiefs entered, and 
preparations appeared to be making for a council. At length, 
Wawatam re-entered the lodge, followed by his wife, and 
both loaded with merchandise, which they carried up to 
the chiefs, and laid in a heap before them. Some moments 
of silence followed, at the end of which Wawatam pro- 
nounced a speech, every word of which, to me, was of extraor- 
dinary interest. 

" * Friends and relations,' he began, * what is it that I shall 
say? You know what I feel. You all have friends and 



MASSACRE AT FOKT MACKINAC. 73 



brothers and children whom as yourselves you love ; and 
you — what would you experience, did you, like me, behold your 
dearest friend, your brother, in the condition of a slave ; a 
slave, exposed every moment to insult and to menaces of 
death? This case, as you all know, is mine. See there [point- 
ing to myself], my friend and brother among slaves — himself 
a slave ! 

" ' You all well know that, long before the war began, I 
adopted him as my brother. From that moment, he became one 
of my family, so that no change of circumstances could break 
the cord which fastened us together. He is my brother ; and 
because I am your relation, he is therefore your relation too. 
And how, being your relation, can he be your slave ? 

" ' On the day on which the war began, you were fearful 
lest, on this very account, I should reveal your secret. You re- 
quested, therefore, that I would leave the fort, and even cross 
the lake. 1 did so ; but I did it with reluctance. 1 did it with 
reluctance, notwithstanding that you, Menehwehna (Minava- 
vana), who had the command in this enterprise, gave me your 
promise that you would protect my friend, delivering him from 
all danger, and giving him safely to me. The performance of 
this promise I now claim. 1 come not with empty hands to ask 
it. You, Menehwehna, best know whether or not, as it respects 
yourself, you have kept your word ; but I bring these goods to 
buy off every claim which any man among you all may have on 
my brother, as his prisoner.' 

" Wawatam having ceased, the pipes were again filled ; 
and, after they were finished, a further period of silence fol- 
lowed. At the end of this, Menehwehna arose, and gave his 
reply : 

'* ' My relation and brother,' said he, * what you have spoken 
is the truth. We were acquainted with the friendship which sub- 
sisted between yourself and the Englishman, in whose behalf 
you have now addressed us. We knew the danger of having our 
secret discovered, and the consequences which must follow ; and 
you say truly, that we requested you to leave the fort. This we 



74 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



did out of regard for you and your family ; for, if a discovery 
of our design had been made, you would have been blamed, 
whether guilty or not ; and you would thus have been involved 
in ditiiculties from which you could not have extricated 
yourself 

" ' It is also true that I promised you to take care of your 
friend ; and this promise 1 performed by desiring my fon, at the 
moment of assault, to seek him out and bring him to my lodge. 
He Went accordingly, but could not find him. The day after I 
sent him to Langlade's, when he was informed that your friend 
was safe ; and had it not been that the Indians were then drink- 
ing the rum which had been found in the fort, he would have 
brought him home with him, according to my orders. I am 
very glad to find that your friend has escaped. We accept your 
present ; and you may take him home with you.' 

" Wawatam thanked the assembled chiefs, and, taking me by 
the hand, led me to his lodge, which was at the distance of a 
few yards only from the prison-lodge. My entrance appeared to 
give joy to the whole family ; food was immediatejy prepared for 
me. and I now ate the first hearty meal which I had made since 
my capture. I found myself one of the family ; and but that I 
had still my fears as to the other Indians, I felt as happy as the 
situation could allow. 

" In the course of the next morning, I was alarmed by a 
noise in the prison-lodge ; and, looking through the openings of 
the lodge in which I was, I saw seven dead bodies of white men 
dragged forth. Upon my inquiry into the occasion, I was in- 
formed that a certain chief, called by the Canadians Le Grand 
Sable, had not long before arrived from his Winter's hunt ; and 
that he, having been absent when the war began, and being now 
desirous of manifesting to the Indians at large his hearty concur- 
rence in what they had done, had gone into the prison-lodge, 
and there, with his knife, put the seven men, whose bodies I 
had seen, to death. 

" Shortly after, two of the Indians took one of the dead 
bodies, which they chose as being the fattest, cut off the head, 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. 75 



and divided the whole into five parts, one of which was put into 
each of five kettles, hung over as many fires, kindled for this 
purpose at the door of the prison-lodge. Soon after things were 
so far prepared, a message came to our lodge, with an invitation 
to Wawatam to assist at the feast. 

" An invitation to a feast is given by him who is the master 
of it. Small cuttings of cedar-wood, of about four inches in 
length, supply the place of cards ; and the bearer, by word of 
mouth, states the particulars. Wawatam obeyed the summons, 
taking with him, as is usual, to the place of entertainment, his 
dish and spoon. After an absence of about half an hour, he 
returned, bringing in his dish a human hand, and a large piece 
of flesh. He did not appear to relish the repast, but told me 
that it was then, and always had been, the custom among all the 
Indian nations, when returning from war, or on overcoming their 
enemies, to make a war-feast from among the slain. ^ This, he 
said, inspired the warrior with courage in attack, and bred him 
to meet death with fearlessness. 

" In the evening of the same day, a large canoe, such as 
those which come from Montreal, was seen advancing to the fort. 
It was full of men, and I distinguished several passengers. The 
Indian cry was made in the village, a general muster ordered, 
and, to the number of two hundred, they marched up to the fort, 
where the canoe was expected to land. The canoe, suspecting 
nothing, came boldly to the fort, where the passengers, as being 
English traders, were seized, dragged through the water, beateh, 
reviled, marched to the prison-lodge, and there stripped of their 
clothes, and confined. 

"Of the English traders that fell into the hands of the In- 
dians, at the capture of the fort, Mr. Tracy was the only one 
who lost his life. Mr. Ezekiel Solomons and Mr. Henry Bost- 
wick were taken by the Ottawas, and, after the peace, carried 
down to Montreal, and there ransomed. Of ninety troops, about 
seventy were killed ; the rest, together with those of the posts in 
the Bay des Puants, and at the river Saint Joseph, were also 
kept in safet}' by the Ottawas, till the peace, and then either 



y6 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



freely restored, or ransomed at Montreal. The Ottawas never 
overcame their disgust at the neglect with which they had been 
treated, in the beginning of the war, by those who afterward 
desired their assistance as allies." 



ESCAPE OF HENRY AND OTHERS. 7/ 



CHAPTER V. ^ 



ESCAPE OF HENRY AND OTHERS. 

THE peculiarities of the Indian character will readily explain 
to us the part which the Ottawas played in this transac- 
tion. They deemed it gross insult that the Ojibwas had under- 
taken an enterprise of such vast importance without consulting 
them or asking their assistance. They had, therefore, rescued 
Henry and his companions in tribulation from the hands of 
their captors, and borne them back to the fort, where they had, 
to the dismay of the Ojibwas, taken possession not only of the 
fort, but of the other prisoners also. This, however, was purely 
out of revenge to the Ojibwas, and not from any good-will 
toward the prisoners. After the Council of which Henry has 
told us, some of the prisoners, among whom was Henry, were 
given up ; but the officers and several of the soldiers were re- 
tained, and carried by the Ottawas to L'Arbre Croche. Here, 
owing probably to the influence of Father Janois, they were 
treated with kindness. From this point Ethrington dispatched 
two letters, one by Janois to Major Gladwyn, at Detroit, and the 
other by an Ottawa Indian to Lieutenant Gorell, at Green Bay. 
Both of these letters contained a brief account of the massacre, 
and an earnest entreaty for assistance. The one addressed to 
Gorell was as follows • 

"MicHlLl MACKINAC, June II, I763. 
" Dear Sir,— This place was taken by surprise on the 4th 
instant by the Chippewas (Ojibwas), at which time Lieutenant 
Jamette and twenty men were killed, and all the rest taken pris- 
oners ; but our good friends the Ottawas have taken Lieutenant 



78 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



Lesslie, me, and eleven men out of their hands, and have prom- 
ised to reinstate us again. You'll therefore, on the receipt of 
this, which I send by a canoe of Ottawas, set out with all your 
garrison, and what English traders you have with you, and come 
with the Indian who gives you this, who will conduct you safe to 
me. You must be sure to follow the instruction you receive 
from the bearer of this, as you are by no means to come to this 
post before you see me at the village, twenty miles from this. 
. . . I must once more beg you'll lose no time in coming 
to join me ; at the same time be very careful, and always be 
on your guard. I long much to see you, and am, dear sir, 

"Your most humble servant, Geo. Ethrington. 

"J. GORELL, Royal Americans." 

When Father Janois reached Detroit, he found the place 
closely besieged, and consequently no assistance could come 
from that quarter ; but at Green Bay the case was otherwise. 
With seventeen men. Lieutenant Gorell had taken possession of 
that post in 1761, and, by a system of good management, had 
succeeded in allaying the hostility of the savages and securing 
the friendship of at least a part of the tribes around him. On 
receiving Ethrington's letter, Gorell told the Indians what the 
Ojibwas had done, and that he and his soldiers were going to 
Michilimackinac to restore order, adding that, during his ab- 
sence, he commended the fort to their care. Presents were dis- 
tributed among them, and advantage taken of every circum- 
stance that could possibly be made to favor the English cause ; 
so that when the party was ready to embark, ninety warriors 
proposed to escort the garrison on its way. 

Arriving at L'Arbre Croche, where Captain Ethrington, 
Lieutenant Lesslie, and eleven men were yet detained as pris- 
oners, Gorell received an intimation that the Ottawas intended 
to disarm his own men also ; but he promptly informed them 
that such an attempt would meet with a vigorous resistance, and 
the Indians desisted. Several days were now spent in holding 
councils. The Indians from Green Bay requested the Ottawas 



ESCAPE OF HENRY AND OTHERS. 79 



to set their prisoners at liberty, to which the latter at length 
assented. Thinking only of how they might escape the pres- 
ence of their troublesome and treacherous foes, they prepared 
to depart. ' One difficulty, however, yet remained. The Ojibwas 
had declared that they would prevent the English from passing 
down to Montreal, and again they had recourse to a Council. A 
reversion of feeling, as we shall soon see, had already taken 
place among the Ojibwa chiefs ; and at length, though reluctantly, 
they yielded the point. On the eighteenth day of July, escorted 
by a fleet of Indian canoes, the English left L'Arbre Croche ; 
and on the thirteenth day of August all arrived in safety at 
Montreal, leaving not a British soldier in the region of the lakes, 
except at Detroit. 

Let us now go back, in point of time, and hear our old friend 
Henry to the end of his story : 

" In the morning of the ninth of June, a General Council was 
held, at which it was agreed to remove to the island of Michili- 
mackinac, as a more defensible situation in the event of an 
attack by the English. The Indians had begun to entertain ap- 
prehensions of a want of strength. No news had reached them 
from the Potawatomies, in the Bay des Puants, and they were 
uncertain whether or not the Monomins would join them. They 
even feared that the Sioux would take the English side. This 
resolution fixed, they prepared for a speedy retreat. At noon 
the camp was broken up, and we embarked, taking with us the 
prisoners that were still undisposed of. On our passage, we en- 
countered a gale of wind, and there were some appearances of 
danger. To avert it, a dog, of which the legs were previously 
tied together, was thrown into the lake — an offering designed to 
soothe the angry passions of some offended Manitou. 

" As we approached the island, two women in the canoe in 
which I was, began to utter melancholy and hideous cries. Pre- 
carious as my condition still remained, I experienced some 
sensations of alarm from these dismal sounds, of which I 
could not then discover the occasion. Subsequently I learned 
that it is customary for the women, on passing near the burial- 



80 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



places of relations, never to omit the practice of which I 
was now a witness, and by which they intend to denote their 
grief. 

"By the approach of evening we reached the island in 
safety, and the women were not long in erecting our cabins. 
In the morning there was a muster of the Indians, at which 
there were found three hundred and fifty fighting men. In the 
course of the day, there arrived a canoe from Detroit, with 
embassadors, who endeavored to prevail on the Indians to 
repair thither, to the assistance of Pontiac; but fear was now 
the prevailing passion. A guard was kept during the day, and 
a watch by night, and alarms were very frequently spread. 
Had an enemy appeared, all the prisoners would have been 
put to death ; and I suspected that, as an Englishman, I should 
share their fate. 

" Several days had now passed, when, one morning, a con- 
tinued alarm prevailed, and I saw th-e Indians running in a 
confused manner toward the beach. In a short time I learned 
that two large canoes from Montreal were in sight. 

"All the Indian canoes were immediately manned, and 
those from Montreal were surrounded and seized as they turned 
a point, behind which the flotilla had been concealed. The 
goods were consigned to a Mr. Levy, and would have been 
saved if the canoe-men had called them French property ; but 
they were terrified, and disguised nothing. 

" In the canoes was a large proportion of liquor — a dan- 
gerous acquisition, and one which threatened disturbance among 
the Indians, even to the loss of their dearest friends. Wawa- 
tam, always watchful of my safety, no sooner heard the noise 
of drunkenness which, in the evening, did not fail to beg^n, 
than he represented to me the danger of remaining in the 
village, and owned that he could not himself resist the temp- 
tation of joining his comrades in the debauch. That I might 
escape all mischief, he therefore requested that I would accom- 
pany him to the mountain, where I was to remain hidden till 
the liquor should be drank. We ascended the mountain accord- 



ESCAPE OF HENRY AND OTHERS. 8l 



ingly. After walking more than half a mile, we came to a large 
rock, at the base of which was an opening, dark within, and 
appearing to be the entrance of a cave. Here Wawatam recom- 
mended that I should take up my lodging, and by all means 
remain till he returned. 

"On going into the cave, of which the entrance was nearly 
ten feet wide, I found the further end to be rounded in its 
shape, like that of an oven, but with a further aperture, too 
small, however, to be explored. After thus looking around me, 
I broke small branches from the trees and spread them for a 
bed, then wrapped myself in my blanket and slept till day- 
break. On awaking, I felt myself incommoded by some object 
upon which I lay, and, removing it, found it to be a bone. This 
I supposed to be that of a deer, or some other animal, and 
what might very natm-ally be looked for in the place in which 
I was; but when daylight visited my chamber I discovered, 
with some feelings of horror, that I was lying on nothing less 
than a heap of human bones and skulls, which covered all 
the floor ! 

"The day passed without the return of Wawatam, and with- 
out food. As night approached, I found myself unable to meet 
its darkness in the charnel-house, which, nevertheless, I had 
viewed free from uneasiness during the day. I chose, there- 
fore, an adjacent bush for this night's lodging, and slept under 
it as before ; but in the morning I awoke hungry and disjiirited, 
and almost envying the dry bones, to the view of which I 
returned. At length the sound of a foot reached me, and my 
Indian friend appeared, making many apologies for his long 
absence, the cause of which was an unfortunate excess in the 
enjoyment of his liquor. 

"This point being explained, I mentioned the extraordinary 

sight that had presented itself in the cave to which he had 

commended my slumbers. He had never heard of its existence 

before, and, upon examining the cave together, we saw reason 

to believe that it had been anciently filled with human bodies. 

"On returning to the lodge, I experienced a cordial 

6 



82 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



reception from the family, which consisted of the wife of my 
friend, his two sons, of whom the eldest was married, and 
whose wife and a daughter of thirteen years of age completed 
the list. 

"Wawatam related to the other Indians the adventure of 
the bones. All of them expressed surprise at hearing it, and 
declared that they had never been aware of the contents of 
this cave before. After visiting it, which they immediately did, 
almost every one offered a different opinion as to its history. 
Some advanced, that at a period when the waters overflowed 
the land (an event which makes a distinguished figure in the 
history of their world), the inhabitants of this island had fled 
into the cave, and been there drowned ; others, that those same 
inhabitants, when the Hurons made war upon them (as tradi- 
tion says they did), hid themselves in the cave, and, being 
discovered, were there massacred. For myself, I am disposed 
to believe that this cave was an ancient receptacle of the bones 
of prisoners sacrificed and devoured at war-feasts. I have 
always observed that the Indians pay particular attention to 
the bones of sacrifices, preserving them unbroken, and deposit- 
ing them in some place kept exclusively for that purpose. 

"A few days after this occurrence, Menehwehna (Minava- 
vana), whom I now found to be the great chief of the village 
of Michilimackinac, came to the lodge of my friend, and when 
the usual ceremony of smoking was finished, he observed that 
Indians were now daily arriving from Detroit, some of whom 
had lost relations or friends in the war, and who would cer- 
tainly retaliate on any Englishman they found, upon which 
account his errand was to advise that I should be dressed like 
an Indian, an expedient whence I might hope to escape all 
future insult. 

" I could not but consent to the proposal ; and the chief was 
so kind as to assist my friend and his family in effecting that 
very day the desired metamorphosis. My hair was cut off, 
and my head shaved, with the exception of a spot on the crown 
of about twice the diameter of a crown-piece. My face was 



ESCAPE OP HENRY AND OTHERS. 83 



painted with three or four different colors, some parts of it red, 
and others black. A shirt was provided for me, painted with 
vermilion mixed with grease. A large collar of wampum was 
put round my neck, and another suspended on my breast. 
Both my arms were decorated with large bands of silver above 
the elbow, besides several smaller ones on the wrists; and my 
legs were covered with mitasses, a kind of hose, made, as is the 
favorite fashion, of scarlet cloth. Over all I was to wear a 
scarlet mantle or blanket, and on my head a large bunch of 
feathers. I parted, not without some regret, with the long hair 
which was natural to it, and which I fancied to be ornamental; 
but the ladies of the family, and of the village in general, ap- 
peared to think my person improved, and now condescended 
to call me handsome, even among Indians. 

" Protected in a great measure by this disguise, I felt myself 
more at liberty than before ; and the season being arrived in 
which my clerks from the interior were to be expected, and 
some part of my property, as I had a right to hope, recovered, 
I begged the favor of Wawatam that he would enable me to 
pay a short visit to Michilimackinac. He did not fail to com- 
ply, and I succeeded in finding my clerks ; but, either through 
the disturbed state of the country, as they represented to be 
the case, or through their misconduct, as I had reason to think, 
I obtained nothing; and nothing, or almost nothing, I now 
began to think would be all that I should need during the rest 
of my life. To fish and to hunt, to collect a few skins and 
exchange them for necessaries, was all that I seemed destined 
to do and to acquire for the future. 

"I returned to the Indian village, where at this time much 
scarcity of food prevailed. We were often for twenty-four 
hours without eating, and when in the morning we had no 
victuals for the day before us, the custom was to black our 
faces with grease and charcoal, and exhibit through resignation 
a temper as cheerful as if in the midst of plenty. A repetition 
of the evil, however, soon induced us to leave the island in 
search of food, and accordingly we departed for the Bay of 



84 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



Boutchitaony, distant eight leagues, and where we found plenty 
of wild fowl and fish." 

Leaving the bay just mentioned, Henry, with his friend 
Wawatam and family, came lo St. Martin's Island, where, in the 
enjoyment of an excellent and plentiful supply of food, they 
remained until the twenty -sixth of August. "At this time," 
continues the narrator, " the Autumn being at hand, and a sure 
prospect of increased security from hostile Indians afforded, 
Wawatam proposed going to his intended wintering-ground. 
The removal was a subject of the greatest joy to myself, on ac- 
count of the frequent insults to which I had still to submit from 
the Indians of our band or village, and to escape from which I 
would freely have gone almost anywhere. At our wintering- 
ground we were to be alone ; for the Indian families in the 
countries of which I write separate in the Winter season for the 
convenience as well of subsistence as of the chase, and reasso- 
ciate in the Spring and Summer. 

"In preparation, our first business was to sail for Michili- 
mackinac, where, being arrived, we procured from a Canadian 
trader, on credit, some trifling articles, together with ammunition 
and two bushels of maize. This done, we steered directly for 
Lake Michigan. At L'Arbre Croche we stopped one day, on a 
visit to the Ottawas, where all the people, and particularly 
O'ki'no'chu'ma'ki, the chief — the same who took me from the 
Chippewas — behaved with great civility and kindness. The 
chief presented me with a bag of maize." 

From L'Arbre Croche they proceeded directly to the mouth of 
the river Aux Sables, which, Henry tells us, is "on the southern 
side of the lake," and as they hunted along their way, Henry 
enjoyed a personal freedom of which he had long been de- 
prived, and became as expert in the Indian pursuits as the 
Indians themselves. The Winter was spent in the chase. " By 
degrees," says Henry, " I became familiarized with this kind of 
life, and had it not been for the idea of which I could not 
divest my mind, that I was living among savages, and for the 
whispers of a lingering hope that I should one day be released 



ESCAPE OF HENRY AND OTHERS. 85 



from it — or if I could have forgotten that I had ever been 
otherwise than as I then was — I could have enjoyed as much 
happiness in this as in any other situation." 

At the approach of Spring, the hunters began their prepara- 
tions for returning to Michilimackinac ; but their faces were no 
sooner turned toward the scene of the massacre than all began 
to fear an attack from the English. The cause of this fear, 
Henry tells us, was the constant dreams of the more aged 
women to that effect. Henry labored, but in vain, to allay their 
fears. On the twenty-fifth day of April, the little party that had 
collected upon the beach embarked. 

Henry writes : " At La Grande Traverse we met a large 
party of Indians, who appeared to labor, like ourselves, under 
considerable alarm, and who dared proceed no further lest they 
should be destroyed by the English. Frequent councils of the 
united bands were held, and interrogations were continually put 
to myself as to whether or not I knew of any design to attack 
them. I found that they believed it possible for me to have a 
foreknowledge of events, and to be informed by dreams of all 
things doing at a distance. 

" Protestations of my ignorance were received with but little 
satisfaction, and incurred the suspicion of a design to conceal 
my knowledge. On this account, therefore, or because I saw 
them tormented with fears which had nothing but imagination to 
rest upon, I told them at length that I knew there was no enemy 
to insult them, and that they might proceed to Michilimackinac 
without danger from the English. I further, and with more con- 
fidence, declared that if ever my countrymen returned to Michi- 
limackinac, I would recommend them to their favor, on account 
of the good treatment which I had received from them. Thus en- 
couraged, they embarked at an early hour the next morning. In 
crossing the bay, we experienced a storm of thunder and lightning. 

" Our port was the village of L'Arbre Croche, which we 
reached in safety, and where we staid till the following day. At 
this village we found several persons who had lately been at 
Michilimackinac, and .from them we had the satisfaction of 



86 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



learning that all was quiet there. The remainder of our voyage 
was therefore performed with confidence. 

" In the evening of the twenty-seventh we landed at the fort, 
which now contained only two French traders. The Indians 
wlio had arrived before us were very few in number, and by all 
who were of our party I was very kindly used. I had the entire 
freedom both of the fort and camp. 

" Wawatam and myself settled our stock, and paid our debts; 
and, this done, I found that my share of what was left consisted in 
a hundred bcaver-skins, sixty raccoon-skins, and six otter, of the 
total value of about one hundred and sixty dollars. With these 
earnings of my Winter's toil, I proposed to purchase clothes, of 
which I was much in need, having been six months without a 
shirt ; but on inquiring into the prices of goods, I found that all 
my funds would not go far. I was able, however, to buy two 
shirts, at ten pounds of beaver each ; a pair of leggi/is, or pad- 
taloons, of scarlet cloth, which, with the ribbon to garnish them 
fashionably, cost me fifteen pounds of beaver; a blanket, at 
twenty pounds of beaver ; and some other articles at 
proportionable rales. In this maimer my wealth was soon 
reduced, but not before I had laid in a good stock of am- 
munition and tobacco. To the use of the latter I had become 
much attached through the Winter. It was my principal recre- 
ation, after returning from the chase ; for my companions in the 
lodge were unaccustomed to pass their time in conversation. 
Among the Indians the topics of conversation are but few, and 
limited, for the most part, to the transactions of the day, the 
number of animals which they have killed, and of those which 
have escaped their pursuit, and other incidents of the chase. 
Indeed, the causes of taciturnity among the Indians may be 
easily understood if we consider how many occasions of speech 
which present themselves to us are utterly unknown to them, — 
the records of history, the pursuits of science, the disquisitions 
of philosophy, the systems of politics, the business and the 
amusements of the day, and the transactions of the four corners 
of the world. 



ESCAPE OF HENRY AND OTHERS. 8y 



" Eight days had passed in tranquillity, when there arrived a 
band of Indians from the Bay of Saguenaum. They had 
assisted at the siege of Detroit, and came to muster as many re- 
cruits for that service as they could. For my own part, I was 
soon informed that, as I was the only Englishman in the place, 
they proposed to kill me in order to give their friends a mess of 
English broth, to raise their courage. 

" This intelligence was not of the most agreeable kind, and, 
in consequence of receiving it, I requested my friend to carry me 
to the Sault de Sainte Marie, at which place I knew the Indians 
to be peaceably inclined, and that M. Cadotte enjoyed a powerful 
influence over their conduct. They considered M. Cadotte as 
their chief, and he was not only my friend, but a friend to the 
English. It was by him that the Chippewas of Lake Superior 
were prevented from joining Pontiac. 

" Wawatam was not slow to exert himself for my preserva- 
tion, but, leaving Michilimackinac in the night, transported 
myself and all his lodge to Point St. Ignace, on the opposite side 
of the strait. Here we remained till daylight, and then went into 
the Bay of Boutchitaony, in which we spent three days in fishing 
and hunting, and where we found plenty of wild fowl. Leaving 
the bay we made for the Isle aux Outardes, where we were 
obliged to put in on account of the wind's coming ahead. We 
proposed sailing for the Sault the next morning. 

" But when the morning came Wawatam's wife complained 
that she was sick, adding that she had had bad dreams, and 
knew that if we went to the Sault we should all be destroyed. 
To have argued at this time against the infallibility of dreams 
would have been extremely unadvisable, since I should have 
appeared to be guilty, not only of an odious want of faith, but 
also of a still more odious want of sensibility to the possible 
calamities of a family which had done so much for the allevia- 
tion of mine. I was silent, but the disappointment seemed to 
seal my fate. No prospect opened to console me. To return to 
Michilimackinac could only insure my destruction, and to 
remain at the island was to brave almost equal danger, since it 



88 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



lay in the direct route between the fort and the Missisaki, along 
which the Indians from Detroit were hourly expected to pass on 
the business of their mission. 1 doubted not but, taking ad- 
vantage of the solitary situation of the family, they would carry 
into execution their design of killing me. 

" Unable therefore to take any part in the direction of our 
course, but a prey at the same time to the most anxious thoughts 
as to my own condition, I passed all the day on the highest part 
to which I could climb of a tail tree, and whence the lake on 
both sides of the island lay open to my view. Here I might 
hope to learn at the earliest possible moment the approach of 
canoes, and by this means be warned in time to congeal myself. 

" On the second morning I returned, as soon as it was light, 
to my watch-tower, on which I had not been long before I dis- 
covered a sail, coming from Michilimackinac. The sail was a 
white one, and much larger than those usually employed by the 
northern Indians. I therefore indulged a hope that it might be 
a Canadian canoe on its voyage to Montreal, and that I might 
be able to prevail upon the crew to take me with them, and thus 
release me from all my troubles. 

" My hopes continued to gain strength ; for I soon persuaded 
myself that the manner in which the paddles were used on board 
the canoe was Canadian, and not Indian. My spirits were 
elated ; but disappointment had become so usual with me, that I 
could not suffer myself to look to the event with any strength of 
confidence. Enough, however, appeared at length to demon- 
strate itself to induce me to descend the tree and repair to the 
lodge with my tidings and schemes of liberty. The family con- 
gratulated me on the approach of so fair an opportunity of es- 
cape, and my father and brother (for he was alternately each of 
these) lit his pipe and presented it to me, saying : ' My son, this 
ma\ be tlie last time that ever you and I shall smoke out of the 
same pipe! I am sorry to part with you. You know the affec- 
tion which I have always borne you, and the dangers to which I 
have exposed myself and family to preserve you from your ene- 
mies, and I am happy to find that my efforts promise not to 



ESCAPE OF HENRY AND OTHERS. 89 



have been in vain.' At this time a boy came into the lodge, 
informing us that the canoe had come from Michihmack- 
inac, and was bound to the Sault de Sainte Marie. It was 
manned by three Canadians, and was carrying home Madame 
Cadotte, wife of M. Cadotte, already mentioned. 

" My hopes of going to Montreal being now dissipated, I re- 
solved on accompanying Madame Cadotte, with her permission, 
to the Sault. On communicating my wishes to Madame Cadotte, 
she cheerfully acceded to them. Madame Cadotte, as I have 
already mentioned, was an Indian woman of the Chippewa 
nation, and she was very generally respected. 

" My departure fixed upon, I returned to the lodge, where I 
packed up my wardrobe, consisting of my two shirts, pair of 
le^gijis, and blanket. Besides these, I took a gun and ammu- 
nition, presenting what remained further to my host. I also 
returned the silver arm-bauds with which the family had 
decorated me the year before. 

"We now exchanged farewells, with an emotion entirely recip- 
rocal. I did not quit the lodge without the most grateful sense 
of the many acts of goodness which I had experienced in it, nor 
without the sincerest respect for the virtues which I had wit- 
nessed among its members. All the family accompanied me to 
the beach, and the canoe had no sooner put off than Wawatam 
commenced an address to the Ki'chi' Ma'ni'to, beseeching him 
to take care of me, his brother, till we should next meet. This, 
he had told me, would not be long, as he intended to return to 
Michilimackinac for a short time only, and then would follow me 
to the Sault. We had proceeded to too great a distance to allow 
of our hearing his voice, before Wawatam had ceased to offer up 
his prayers. 

" Being now no longer in the society of Indians, I laid aside 
the dress, putting on that of a Canadian — a molton or blanket 
coat over my shirt, and a handkerchief about my head, hats 
being very little worn in this country. 

" At daybreak on the second morning of our voyage we em- 
barked, and presently perceived several canoes behind us. As 



90 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



they approached, we ascertained them to be the fleet bound for 
the Missisaki, of wliich I had been so long in dread. It 
amounted to twenty sail. On coming up with us and surround- 
ing our canoe, and amid general inquiries concerning the news, 
an Indian challenged nie for an Englishman, and his companions 
supported him by declaring that I looked very like one ; but I 
affected not to understand any of the questions which they asked 
me, and Madame Cadotte assured them that I was a Canadian 
whom she had brought on his first voyage from Montreal. 

"The following day saw us safely landed at the Sault, where 
I experienced a generous welcome from M. Cadotte. There 
were thirty warriors at this place, restrained from joining in the 
war only by M. Cadotte's influence. Here for five days I was 
once more in the possession of tranquillity; but on the sixth a 
young Indian came into M. Cadotte's, saying that a canoe full of 
warriors had just arrived from Michilimackinac ; that they had 
inquired for me, and that he believed their intentions to be bad. 
Nearly at the same time a message came from the good chief 
of the village, desiring me to conceal myself until he should dis- 
cover the views and temper of the strangers. A garret was a 
second time my place of refuge ; and it was not long before the 
Indians came to M. Cadotte's. My friend immediately informed 
Mut'chi'ki'wish, their chief, who was related to his wife, of the de- 
sign imputed to them of mischief against myself. Mutchikiwish 
frankly acknowledged that they had had such a design, but added 
that, if displeasing to M. Cadotte, it should be abandoned. He 
then further stated that their errand was to raise a party of war- 
riors to return with them to Detroit, and that it had been their 
intention to take me with them. 

" In regard to the principal of the two objects thus disclosed, 
M. Cadotte proceeded to assemble all the chiefs and warriors of 
the village ; and these, after deliberating for some time among 
themselves, sent for the strangers, to whom both M. Cadotte and 
the chief of the village addressed a speech. In these speeches, 
after recurring to the designs confessed to have been entertained 
against myself, who was now declared to be under the immediate 



ESCAPE OF HENRY AND OTHERS. 9I 



protection of all the chiefs, by whom any insult I might sustain 
would be avenged, the embassadors were peremptorily told that 
they might go back as they came, none, of the young men of 
this village being foolish enough to join them. 

"A moment after, a report was brought that a canoe had 
just arrived from Niagara, As this was a place from which 
every one was anxious to hear news, a message was sent to these 
fresh strangers, requesting them to come to the Council. They 
came accordingly, and, being seated, a long silence ensued. At 
length one of them, taking up a belt of wampum, addressed him- 
self thus to the assembly : ' My friends and brothers, I am 
come with this belt from our great father, Sir William Johnson. 
He desired me to come to you, as his embassador, and tell you 
that he is making a great feast at Fort Niagara ; that his kettles 
are all ready, and his fires lit. He invites you to partake of the 
feast, in common with your friends the Six Nations, which have 
all made peace with the English. He advises you to seize this 
opportunity of doing the same, as you can not otherwise fail of 
being destroyed ; for the English are on their march with a great 
army, which will be joined by different nations of Indians. In 
a word, before the fall of the leaf they will be at Michilimack- 
inac, and the Six Nations with them.' 

" The tenor of this speech greatly alarmed the Indians of the 
Sault, who, after a very short consultation, agreed to send twenty 
deputies to Sir William Johnson, at Niagara. This was a project 
highly interesting to me, since it offered me the means of leaving 
the country. I intimated this to the chief of the village, and 
received his promise that I should accompany the deputation. 

"Very little time was proposed to be lost in setting forward 
on the voyage ; but the occasion was of too much magnitude 
not to call for more than human knowledge and discretion ; 
and preparations were accordingly made for solemnly invoking 
and consulting the Great Turtle. In this, the first thing to 
be done, was the building of a large house or wigwam, within 
which was placed a species of tent, for the use of the priest, 
and reception of the spirit. The tent was formed of moose- 



92 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



skins, hung over a frame-work of wood. Five poles, or rather 
pillars, of five different species of timber, about ten feet in 
height, and eight inches in diameter, were set in a circle of 
about four feet in diameter. The holes made to receive them 
were about two feet deep ; and the joillars being set, the holes 
were filled up again with the earth which had been dug out. 
At the top, the pillars were bound together by a circular hoop, 
or girder. Over the whole of this edifice were spread the 
moose-skins, covering it at top and round the sides, and made 
fast with thongs of the same ; except that on one side a part 
was left unfastened, to admit of the entrance of the priest. 

"The ceremonies did not commence but with the approach 
of night. To give light within the house, several fires were 
kindled round the tent. Nearly the whole village assembled 
in the house, and myself among the rest. It was not long 
before the priest appeared, almost in a state of nakedness. As 
he approached the tent, the skins were lifted up as much as 
was necessary to allow of his creeping under them, on his hands 
and knees. His head was scarcely inside, when the edifice, 
massy as it has been described, began to shake; and the skins 
were no sooner let fall than the sounds of numerous voices 
were heard beneath them ; some yelling, some barking as dogs, 
some howling like wolves ; and in this horrible concert were 
mingled screams and sobs, as of desjoair, anguish, and the 
sharpest pain. Articulate speech was also uttered, as if from 
human lips, but in a tongue unknown to any of the audience. 

"After some time, these confused and frightful noises were 
succeeded by a perfect silence; and now a voice, not heard 
before, seemed to manifest the arrival of a new character in 
the tent. This was a low and feeble voice, resembling the cry 
of a young puppy. The sound was no sooner distinguished, 
than all the Indians clapped their hands for joy, exclaiming 
that this was the Chief Spirit — the Turtle — the spirit that 
never lied ! Other voices, which they had discriminated from 
time to time, they had previously hissed, as recognizing them 
to belong to evil and lying spirits, which deceive mankind. 



ESCAPE OF HENRY AND OTHERS. 93 



New sounds came from the tent. During the space of half an 
hour, a succession of songs were heard, in which a diversity of 
voices met the ear. From his first entrance, till these songs 
were finished, we heard nothing in the proper voice of the 
priest ; but now he addressed the multitude, declaring the pres- 
ence of the Great Turtle, and the spirit's readiness to answer 
such questions as should be proposed. 

"The questions were to come from the chief of the village, 
who was silent, however, till after he had put a large quantity 
of tobacco into the tent, introducing it at the aperture. This 
was a sacrifice, offered to the spirit ; for spirits are supposed, 
by the Indians, to be as fond of tobacco as themselves. The 
tobacco accepted, he desired the priest to inquire, — Whether 
or not the English were preparing to make war upon the 
Indians.'' and, whether or not there were at Fort Niagara a 
large number of English troops ? These questions having been 
put by the priest, the tent instantly shook ; and for some 
seconds after, it continued to rock so violently that I expected 
to see it leveled with the ground. All this was a prelude, as 
I supposed, to the answers to be given; but a terrific cry 
announced, with sufficient intelligibility, the departure of the 
Turtle. 

"A quarter of an hour elapsed in silence, and I waited 
impatiently to discover what was to be the next incident in 
this scene of imposture. It consisted in the return of the spirit, 
whose voice was again heard, and who now delivered a con- 
tinued speech. The language of the Great Turtle, like that 
which we had heard before, was wholly unintelligible to every 
ear, that of the priest excepted ; and it was, therefore, not till 
the latter gave us an interpretation, which did not commence 
before the spirit had finished, that we learned the purport of 
this extraordinary communication. 

"The spirit, as we were now informed by the priest, had, 
during his short absence, crossed Lake Huron, and even pro- 
ceeded as far as Fort Niagara, which is at the head of Lake 
Ontario, and thence to Montreal. At Fort Niagara he had 



94 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



seen no great number of soldiers; but, on descending the St. 
Lawrence as low as Montreal, he had found the river covered 
with boats, and the boats filled with soldiers, in number like 
the leaves of the trees. He had met them on their way up the 
river, coming to make war upon the Indians. 

"The chief had a third question to propose; and the spirit, 
without a fresh journey to Fort Niagara, was able to give it an 
instant and most favorable answer. ' If,' said the chief, * the 
Indians visit Sir William Johnson, will they be received as 
friends ?' 

'"Sir William Johnson,' said the spirit (and after the spirit, 
the priest), ' Sir William Johnson will fill their canoes with 
presents : with blankets, kettles, guns, gunpowder, and shot, 
and large barrels of rum, such as the stoutest of the Indians 
will not be able to lift; and every man will return in safety to 
his family.' At this, the transport was universal ; and, amid the 
clapping of hands, a hundred voices exclaimed, I will go too ! 
I will go too !' 

"The questions of public interest being resolved, individuals 
were now permitted to seize the opportunity of inquiring into 
the condition of their absent friends, and the fate of such as 
were sick. I observed that the answers given to these ques- 
tions allowed of much latitude of interpretation. 

"The Great Turtle continued to be consulted till near 
midnight, when all the crowd dispersed to their respective 
lodges. 

" I was on the watch, through the scene I have described, 
to detect the particular contrivances by which the fraud was 
carried on ; but, such was the skill displayed in the perform- 
ance, or such my deficiency of penetration, that I made no 
discoveries, but came away, as I went, with no more than those 
general surmises which will naturally be entertained by every 
reader." 

Henry accompanied the Indian deputation, and reached 
Fort Niagara in safety, w^here he was received in the most cor- 
dial manner by Sir William Johnson. Thus he escaped the 



ESCAPE OF HENRY AND OTHERS. 9$ 



sufferings and dangers which the capture of Michilimackinac 
had brought upon him. 

The reader will doubtless be interested to know the fate 
of Minavavana, or the Grand Sautor, as he was otherwise called, 
who led the Ojibwas at the massacre of Michilimackinac. The 
following notice of this chief is from the pen of J. Carver, Esq., 
an English gentleman who visited Michilimackinac in the year 
1766, three years after the massacre: 

" The first I accosted were Chippewas, inhabiting near the 
Ottowan lakes ; who received me with great cordiality, and 
shook me by the hand in token of friendship. At some little 
distance behind these stood a chief, remarkably tall and well 
made, but of so stern an aspect that the most undaunted per- 
son could not behold him without feeling some degree of terror. 
He seemed to have passed the meridian of life, and by the 
mode in which he was painted and tattooed, I discovered that 
he was of high rank. However, I approached him in a courte- 
ous manner, and expected to have met with the same reception 
I had done from the others; but, to my great surprise, he 
withheld his hand, and looking fiercely at me, said in the Chip- 
pewa tongue, ' Caurin nishishin saganosh ;' that is, ' The En- 
glish are no good.' As he had his tomahawk in his hand, I 
expected that this laconic sentence would have been followed 
by a blow ; to prevent which I drew a pistol from my belt, and 
holding it in a careless position, passed close by him, to let 
him see I was not afraid of him. 

"I learned soon. after, from the other Indians, that this was 
a chief called by the French the Grand Sautor, or the Great 
Chippewa Chief; for they denominate the Chippewas, Sautors. 
They likewise told me that he had been always a steady friend 
to that people, and when they delivered up Michilimackinac to 
the English, on their evacuation of Canada, the Grand Sautor 
had sworn that he would ever remain the avowed enemy of its 
new possessors, as the territories on which the fort is built 
belonged to him. 

"Since I came to England I have been informed that the 



g6 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



Grand Sautor, having rendered himself more and more dis- 
gustful to the English by his inveterate enmity toward them, 
was at length stabbed in his tent, as he encamjoed near Michi« 
limackinac, by a trader." 

For a little more than a year after the massacre, Mackinac 
was only occujjied by the coiireiirs de bois and such Indian 
jands as chose to make it a temporary residence ; but after the 
treaty with the Indians, Captain Howard, with a sufficiently 
large detachment of troops, was sent to take possession of it, 
and "once more the cross of St. George was a rallying point, 
and the protection of the adventurous traders." 

"In 1779, a party of British officers passed over from the 
point of the peninsula to the island of Michilimackinac, to 
reconnoiter, with the intention of removing the fort thither. 
After selecting a location, they asked permission of the Indians 
to occupy it. Some time elapsed before their consent could 
be obtained ; consequently, the removal was not effected until 
the ensuing Summer. A government-house and a few other 
buildings were erected, on the site of the present village, and 
the troops took possession on the 15th of July, 1780. 

"The removal of the inhabitants from the main-land to the 
island was gradual ; and the fort, which was built on the site of 
the present one, was not completed until 1783." 



WAR OF I8l2. 97 



CHAPTER VI. 



WAR OF 1812. 

WHEN the war of 1812 broke out, the territory of Michi- 
gan was h> a defenseless condition. The military posts 
about the lakes were but poorly fortified, and manned with 
insufficient garrisons. They were situated in the midst of 
almost impenetrable forests, filled with hostile savages, while 
at no great distance was a large body of British subjects who 
could easily be brought aga.'nst them. 

The garrison of Fort Mackinac, at the time, consisted of 
only fifty-seven effective men, under the command of Lieutenant 
Hanks. The fort itself was mainly the same as now. The 
walls which had been built by the British in 1780, and which 
are still standing, were surmounted by a palisade of cedar pick- 
ets about ten feet high, intended as a defense against the 
Indians. To make it impossible to scale this palisade, each 
picket was protected at the top by iron prongs, made sharp, 
and by hooks on the outside. Through it were numerous port- 
holes, through which a leaden shower of death might be made 
to pour upon any foe that should dare to come in reach. Two 
or three guns of small caliber were planted at convenient places 
upon the walls, and one small piece in each of the three block- 
houses, which are yet standing. The town, at the time, was 
much smaller than now. Except the old distillery, which stood 
upon the beach some little distance bej^ond the present western 
limits of Shanty Town, no building had been erected west of 
the house now occupied by Mr. Ambrose Davenport, and none 
east of the fort garden, except one small shanty, which stood 
near the present site of the old Mission Church. With one 

7 



98 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



exception, the houses were all one-story buildings, built of 
cedar, and roofed with cedar-bark. This one house, which 
formed the exception, was then occupied by a Dr. Mitchell, 
and is still standing. The several traders then on the island 
had each what might be called a store; and there was one dock, 
so called, which consisted of two cribs filled with stone, and 
connected with each other and with the beach by two logs 
placed side by side. 

In 1795, when the British gave up Fort Mackinac to the 
Americans, they repaired to the island of St. Joseph, which is 
situated in St. Mary's River, about twenty miles above Detour, 
and there constructed a fort. This fort was garrisoned, at the 
commencement of the war, by a small company of British reg- 
ulars, under command of Captain Roberts. 

When war was declared, there was an unpardonable neg- 
ligence on the part of the War Department in not furnishing the 
Western frontiers with information of that important event. 
Owing to this negligence, the English at Detroit were in pos- 
session of this important news before it reached the American 
side, and the English commander, taking advantage of that 
fact, hastened to transmit the intelligence to all his outposts, 
and take such steps as would best secure the interests of the 
British Crown. Among his expedients was a plan for an im- 
mediate attack on Fort Mackinac. With almost incredible dis- 
patch, a messenger was sent to St. Joseph, bearing a letter to 
Captain Roberts, which, strange to say, y^z.^ franked h^ the Secre- 
tary of the American Treasury, containing the information of the 
declaration of war, and also the suggestion of an immediate 
attack on this fort as the best means of defending his own. 

Roberts was but poorly prepared for an enterprise of such 
moment ; yet, entering warmly into the views of his superior 
officer, and being cordially supported by the agents of the two 
Western Fur Companies, he was not long in deciding upon his 
course. Messengers were hastily dispatched to the Ottawas and 
Chippewas, two neighboring Indian tribes, who, eager for strife, 
40on flocked to his standard in large numbers. The French, 



WAR OF 1 8 12. 99 

jealous of the Americans, still farther augmented his strength, 
and, in the short space of eight days, he had a force, naval and 
military, of more than a thousand at his command. On the 
i6th day of July he embarked. 

Let us now turn our attention to Fort Mackinac. The first 
intimation which the little garrison and town received that all was 
not right, was from the conduct of the Indians. In obedience 
to the summons of Captain Roberts, they were going toward 
the Sault in large numbers. This caused some uneasiness, and 
Lieutenant Hanks, with the citizens of the place, made every 
eifort to learn from them the object of their journey. Several 
councils were called, but in vain. See'gee'noe, Chief of the Ot- 
ta^Vas, was questioned closely ; but not a word could be elicited 
from him which in any way explained their conduct. This 
caused the cloud of uncertainty to lower, and made the anxiety 
of the citizens more and more painful. Failing to get any satis- 
faction from the Indians, they next called a public meeting of 
the citizens to consult upon the matter, and it was resolved to 
make yet another effort to unravel the mystery. 

Mr. Michael Dousman, an American fur-trader, had some 
time before sent two of his agents, William Aikins and John 
Drew, into the Lake Superior region to trade With the Indians 
for furs. He had heard of their return to the Sault, but knew of 
no reason why they had not returned to head-quarters on this 
island. He therefore, on the i6th of July, under pretense of 
ascertaining the reason for the delay, but really to learn what it 
was that called so many of the Indians in that direction, set out 
for the Sault, starting about noon. When four or five miles this 
side of Detour, he learned the whole truth ; for, meeting 
Captain Roberts's expedition, he was taken prisoner, barely 
escaping with his life. 

When the night had let her sable curtain fall over the wide 
expanse of water and forest, and the expedition was nearing the 
island, it was proposed by Captain Roberts to send one Oliver, a 
British trader, to the people of the town, to inform them of his 
approach and conduct them to a place of safety. Mr. Dousman 



ICK) OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



now urged upon Captain Roberts that the people would perhaps 
be slow to believe such a repoit from a stranger, and, anxious for 
the safety of his friends, asked leave to return on that mission 
himself. This he was permitted to do, having first taken oath 
that he would not give information of their approach to the gar- 
rison. Separating himself from liis captors, he returned to the 
harbor in front of the town, and, an hour before day, proceeded 
to the house of Mr. Ambrose R. Davenport, and rapped loudly 
at the door. Mr. Davenport, on learning who was at the door, 
exclaimed, "What, Dousman, have you come back ?" and rising 
hastily, came out. " Yes," replied Dousman, •' I have come 
back, and I have important news for you." After extorting from 
him a promise of secrecy, he proceeded to inform him that war 
had been declafed, and that the British had come to take the fort 
being already upon the island, judge of the surprise, we may 
say indignation, of the citizens, as, one by one, they received the 
information. We can well imagine that there was hurrying tc 
and fro through the streets of Mackinac on that eventful 
morning. Fifty-eight years have run their course, and nearly 
two generations of the human family have passed away since 
that time, and yet we can see the anxious faces that looked out 
from every door and window as the unwelcome news was 
whispered in the ears of startled sleepers. "What can it mean ?" 
is eagerly and simultaneously asked by every two that meet ; but 
not a man in Mackinac can unravel the mystery. Word is cir- 
culated that if the citizens will flee to the distillery they shall be 
safe. Like wild-fire the message goes from mouth to mouth, 
until every man, woman, and child is on the way to the place 
designated. 

Meanwhile, Captain Roberts proceeded to the north-west 
side of the island, landed his forces, and began his march to- 
ward the fort. At the farm near the landing they took possession 
of a number of cattle belonging to Michael Dousman, who then 
owned the farm, and before the dawn of day reached the hollow 
which may be seen a short distance to the rear of the fort. 
Upon a little ridge which separates this hollow from the parade- 



WAR OF I8l2. lOI 



ground (and only a few paces from it), they planted a gun in the 
road, and anxiously awaited the approach of day. 

Inside the fort, all was the most perfect quiet ; not a suspicion 
that the war-bugle had been blown found a place in a single 
bosom, though the enemy's gun was even then pointing over 
them at the distance of but a few rods. The dawn appeared, 
and the unsuspecting garrison began to move. As Lieutenant 
Hanks looked out from his quarters, (the same as are now oc- 
cupied by the commanding officer), he was struck with the un- 
usual quiet that prevailed in the town below. What could it 
mean ? No smoke went curling gracefully upward to the sky as 
usual, and no hurried footsteps were in the streets. Strange ! 
Something evidently was wrong ; and, summoning Lieutenant 
Darrow, he ordered him with two men to go down and ascertain 
what it might be. Accordingly, this officer descended to the 
town, to search for the trouble. He proceeded on his way until he, 
too, had arrived at the distillery, when the truth flashed upon him. 
Under a strong guard, which had been sent by Captain Roberts, 
the inhabitants of the place were awaiting the decision that 
would again make them subjects of the British Crown. Darrow 
entered the distillery, and shook hands with its inmates ; but when 
he proposed to return to the fort, the guards proposed to make 
him prisoner. Taking a pistol in each hand, and demanding 
permission to retire, he faced the guard, and, followed by his 
men, walked backward till beyond their reach, when he returned 
without molestation to the fort. 

But Lieutenant Hanks had no need of waiting for the return 
of Darrow to know the truth, for the sharp report of a British 
gun soon told him all, and more than all, that he wished to 
know; and before the distant forests had ceased to re-echo the 
sound, or the smoke of that unwelcome sunrise-gun was lost 
in the azure vault of heaven, a British officer, with flag in hand, 
appeared and demanded a surrender, emphasizing the demand 
by a statement of the overwhelming numbers of the invading 
army, and a threat of indiscriminate slaughter by the savages at 
the first motion toward resistance. 



I02 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



When the inhabitants of the town had been gathered under 
guard at the distillery, Messrs. Davenport, Abbot, Bostwick, 
Stone, and John Dousman, who were among the leading citizens, 
were advised to go at once to the landing and give themselves 
up to Colonel Dickson, who had been left at that point by Cap- 
tain Roberts for that purpose. This they accordingly did. They 
were then urged by Colonel Dickson to petition Lieutenant 
Hanks to surrender the fort at once, stating that the Indians 
would be entirely unmanageable in case there should be any 
resistance. This advice they also followed. 

The position in which Hanks was now placed can be easily 
imagined. Not having received intelligence of the declaration 
of war, he was wholly off his guard, and unprepared to defend 
himself Tiie British troops, though less in number than the 
garrison under his command, had a position which commanded 
the fort, and were supported by nearly a thousand Indian war- 
riors, who had been instructed to show no mercy in case that any 
resistance was made. Such being the case, Lieutenant Hanks 
surrendered the fort without even the ceremony of a refusal, and 
his men were paroled and sent to Detroit. 

Some blame has been attached to the conduct of Lieuten- 
ant Hanks in this transaction. It has been claimed that, to say 
the least, the surrender was precipitate ; that some experiment 
of the enemy's power to take the fort was due to the honor of 
the American flag, and ought to have been made, and that the 
result would probably have shown "that an invading corps, com- 
posed of thirty regulars and a rabble of engages and savages, 
with two old rusty guns of small caliber, was much less formi- 
dable than had been imagined." This seems very plausible, 
especially to those who are unacquainted with the savage bar- 
barities of Indian warfare ; but when it is considered that the 
first act of resistance would probably have been the signal for 
the uplifting of a thousand tomahawks and the brandish- 
ing of a thousand scalping-knives, we hesitate to condemn the 
conduct of Lieutenant Hanks in thus promptly making the 
surrender. 



WAR OF l8l2. 103 

Some one was doubtless to blame. It was an unpardonable 
oversight that information of the existence of war was not im- 
mediately transmitted to the fort, and thorough preparation made 
for its defense. It was not, perhaps, the most flattering indi- 
cation of good generalship that Lieutenant Hanks should permit 
himself to be thus surprised. He was on the extreme frontier, 
surrounded by Indian nations whom he knew to be unfriendly 
and treacherous, and but a few miles distant from the inveterate 
enemies of the American flag, whose wounded pride made them 
as unscrupulous as the savages themselves, and he should not 
have allowed himself to be thus surprised. Under these unfa- 
vorable circumstances, his vigilance ought to have saved him from 
the humiliating necessity of surrender; but after the English 
had planted their guns almost beneath the shadow of the fort, 
and the assembled savages, with implements of death in their 
hands, stood ready and eager, if occasion should offer, to repeat 
the bloody scenes of 1763 at Old Mackinac, was it not wise in 
him to make a virtue of necessity, and permit the English to take 
peaceable possession of the fort and the island ? We leave the 
reader to judge for himself in the premises. 

When the fort had been surrendered, the next step was to 
assemble the citizens at the government-house, and administer 
to them the oath of allegiance to the British Crown. Most of 
them willingly took this oath ; but Messrs. Davenport, Bostwick, 
Stone, Abbot, and the Dousman brothers refused to turn traitors 
to the country of their choice. With the exception of Michael 
Dousman, who was permitted to remain neutral, these men were 
immediately sent away with the soldiers, and were not permitted 
to return till after the declaration of peace. 

The services of Captain Roberts and his men, in thus sur- 
prising and capturing Fort Mackinac, were highly appreciated 
and liberally rewarded by the British Government. Prize-money 
to the amount of ten thousand pounds was divided among the 
volunteers and soldiers, and merchandise and arms distributed 
to the Indians. Sir William Johnson, Esq., as quoted in " Old 
Mackinaw," tells us that, in 1836, he " examined the list or pay- 



I04 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



roll for this prize-money ; the names of all those who partici 
pated in the taking of Fort Mackinac were there enrolled, the 
money was divided according to rank, and each person receipted 
for his individual share." 

Having thus easily and cheaply succeeded in wresting from 
the American people their most important Western military po- 
sition, the English at once set about the work of strengthening 
themselves in their new possession. Fearing that they would 
not be able to hold what they had so easily gained, they hastened 
to construct a fortification on the crowning point of the island, 
which, in honor of their reigning sovereign, they dignified with 
the title of Fort George. The remains of this old fort, now 
called Fort Holmes, may still be seen ; and, from its historical 
associations, it is a place of much interest. 



WAR OF l8l2 CONCLUDED. IO5 



CHAPTER VII. 



■WAR OF 1812— CONCLUDED. 



DURING the progress of the war, important changes took 
place in the Territory of Michigan. Fort Dearborn, on 
the south-western extremity of Lake Michigan, was forgotten 
ahke by the Government and by General Hull, until about the 
middle of July, when Captain Heald, its commander, was or- 
dered to " dismantle the fort, destroy the surplus arms and am- 
munition, and withdraw the garrison to Detroit." But in the 
attempt to execute this order the displeasure of the Indians was 
mcurred, and the whole garrison either killed or taken prisoners. 
Through the ignorance and cowardice of General Hull, the whole 
territory was finally surrendered to the English ; but the dis- 
graceful act roused such a feeling of indignation in the West, 
that every man's chctk burned with shame, and ten thousand 
men sprang to arms, eager for a sight of the foe. General Har- 
rison was placed in command, and the tide of victory soon 
turned in favor of the American cause. 

On the tenth day of September, 1813, Commodore Perry 
gained his brilliant victory on Lake Erie. This again opened 
the way to the territory abandoned by Hull, and Harrison 
pressed on to occupy it. The British army retreated before him, 
and he entered Detroit. On the 5th of October, a decisive 
victory was gained over the combined British and Indian forces, 
known as the victory of the Thames, in which Tecumseh, the 
great Indian war-chief, was slain. The death of this chief broke 
up the alliance of the Western tribes, and opened the way for 
treaties of peace. 

So far as the North-west was concerned, the war was now 



106 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



practically closed ; yet there was one post of great importance 
which had not been wrested from the Isnglish. That post was 
at the head of the lakes, and was virtually the key of the West 
Active stt'ps were soon taken to dispossess tlie Knglish of this 
stronghold, and drive them wholly from the American soil. 
Immediately after the battle of the Thames, an expedition to 
the upper lakes was contemplated ; but, unfortunately, it was 
prevented by the non-arrival of two schooners — the Chippcwcxy 
and Ohio — which had been sent to Clevelajid and Bass Islands 
for provisions. These vessels had arrived off Maiden ; but a 
storm from the west drove them to the lower end of the lake, 
where they were stranded. 

Early in the following April, 1814, this expedition up Lake 
Huron was again proposed, the object being twofold — the cap- 
ture of Fort Mackinac and the destruction of certain vessels, 
which it was said the English were building in Gloucester, or 
Atatchadash Bay, at the south-east extremity of the lake. But 
this plan was also abandoned, partly from a want of men, 
partly from the belief that Great Britain did not, as had been 
supposed, intend to make an effort to regain the command 
of thft upper lakes, and partly also from a misunderstanding 
between General Harrison and Colonel Croghan, who com- 
manded at Detroit, on the one hand, and the Secretary of War 
on the other. No sooner, however, had the plan of April been 
abandoned than it was revived again, in consequence of new 
information of the establishment at Matchadash Bay. 

In obedience to orders issued upon the second day of June, 
ample preparations were soon made. A squadron was fitted 
out, consisting of the United States sloops of war A'tagaj-a and 
Lawrence, carrying twenty guns each, with the smaller schoon- 
ers, Caledonia, Scorpion, Ti^^rcss, Detroit, and others, and a 
land force of seven hundred and fifty men placed on board. 
Commodore Sinclair was the naval commander, and Lieutenant- 
Colonel Croghan. a young man who had gallantly and success- 
fully defended Sandusky during the early part of the war, had 
charge of the militia. Ambrose R. Davenport who, two years 



WAR OF l8l2 — CONCLUDED. lO/ 



before, had been sent away from Mackinac on account of his 
loyalty, was chosen to accompany the expedition as quarter- 
master and guide. On the third day of July, when all was 
ready, and fair winds had proffered their needed assistance, the 
sails were spread and the fleet sped joyfully on its course. 
Difficulties encountered on the flats of Lake St. Clair, and the 
rapid current of the river, prevented the squadron from reach- 
ing Lake Huron till the 12th. High hopes of success and 
bright anticipations of glory, cheered the hearts of officers and 
men as that fleet of sloops and schooners, the largest that had 
ever ventured out upon the bosom of Lake Huron, proudly 
shaped its course for Matchadash Bay. Disappointment, how- 
ever, awaited them. Every possible effort was made to gain 
the desired bay, and destroy the imaginary vessels there build- 
ing, but in vain. No pilot could be found for that unfrequented 
part of the lake. Islands and sunken rocks were numerous, 
and threatened destruction to the fleet. The lake was almost 
continually covered with an impenetrable fog, and from the 
time already consumed in the fruitless attempt, the provisions 
of the army were growing short. Hence, that part of the work 
was abandoned, and the squadron pushed on toward the head- 
waters of Huron. 

When nearing the place of destination, a council was called 
to decide whether they should proceed at once to the capture 
of Fort Mackinac, or first repair to St. Joseph's, and destroy 
the enemy's works at that point. It was urged that an immedi- 
ate attack upon the fort was policy, inasmuch as the English, 
having had no intimation of their approach, were probably 
without Indian allies, and unprepared to defend the island; 
that, should they first proceed to St. Joseph's, time would thus 
be given the English to call m these savage auxiliaries, and 
so strengthen themselves that, upon their return, it would be 
difficult, if not impossible, to take the place. But Sinclair 
thought that, by leaving a part of the squadron to cruise round 
the island during his absence, this could be prevented ; hence, 
m spite of salutary advice from those who knew the Indian 



I08 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



character far better than themselves, it was agreed between 
the naval and military commanders to proceed at once to St. 
Joseph's. This was a fatal error. As well attempt to prevent 
insects from flying through the air by holding up the hand, 
as to think of hindering Indians in their ipproach to the island 
with two or three gun-boats anchored in as many different 
places about it. 

On the 2oth of July they arrived at St. Joseph's, and found 
the British establishment at that point deserted. This they 
burned, but left untouched the town and North-west Com- 
pany's storehouses. While wind-bound at this point, Sinclair 
captured the North-west Company's schooner Mink, from 
Mackinac to St. Mary's, with a cargo of flour, and by this 
means received intelligence that the schooner Perseverance 
was lying above the Falls of St. Mary, at the foot of Lake 
Superior, in waiting to transport the Mink's cargo to Fort 
Williams. 

Upon the receipt of this information, he dispatched Lieu- 
tenant Turner, an active and enterprising officer, to capture 
her, and, if possible, get her down the falls. Colonel Croghan 
detached Major Holmes with a party of regulars to co-operate 
in the expedition, in which the capture of St. Mary's was in- 
cluded. The following official report of Lieutenant Turner, to 
Sinclair, will give the reader a clear idea of what was effected 
by this movement. It is dated "U. S. Schooner Scorpion, off" 
Michilimackinac, July 28, 1814:" 

" Sir, — I have the honor to inform you that, agreeable to 
your orders of the 2 2d instant, I proceeded on the expedition 
to Lake Superior with the launches. I rowed night and day; 
but, having a distance of sixty miles, against a strong current, 
information had reached the enemy at St. Mary's of our ap- 
proach about two hours before I arrived at that place, carried 
by Indians in their light canoes ; several of whom I chased, and 
by firing on them and killing some, prevented their purposes ; 
some I captured and kept prisoners until my arrival, others 



WAR OF l8l2 CONCLUDED. lOQ 



escaped. The force under Major Holmes prevented any thing 
hke resistance at the fort, the enemy, with their Indians, carry- 
ing with them all the light valuable articles, peltr}-, clothes, 
etc. I proceeded across the strait of Lake Superior without 
a moment's delay; and on my appearance, the enemy, finding 
they could not get off with the vessel I was in quest of, set fire 
to her in several places, scuttled, and left her. I succeeded in 
boarding her, and by considerable exeitions extinguished the 
flames, and secured her from sinking. I then stripped her and 
prepared for getting her down the falls. Adverse winds pre- 
vented my attempting the falls until the 26th, when every pos- 
sible effort was used, but I am sorry to say without success, to 
get her over in safety. The fall in three-quarters of a mile is 
forty-five feet, and the channel very rocky ; the current runs 
from twenty to thirty knots, and in one place there is a per- 
pendicular leap of ten feet between three rocks ; here she 
bilged, but was brought down so rapidly that we succeeded in 
running her on shore below the rapids before she filled, and 
burned her. She was a fine new schooner, upward of one hun- 
dred tons, called the Perseverance, and will be a severe loss to 
the North-west Company. Had I succeeded in getting her 
safe, I could have loaded her to advantage from the enemy's 
storehouses. I have, however, brought down four captured 
boats loaded with Indian goods to a considerable amount ; the 
balance, contained in four large and two small storehouses, were 
destroyed, amounting in value from fifty to one hundred thou- 
sand dollars. All private property was, according to your orders, 
respected. The officers and men under my command behaved 
with great activit}^ and zeal, particularly midshipman Swartwout. 
" I have the honor to be, sir, with great respect, your 
obedient servant, Daniel Turner." 

On the return of the launches to St. Joseph's, the squadron 
proceeded to Mackinac, where it arrived on the 26th. During 
the time that had now elapsed since the first appearance of 
the fleet off Light-house Point, Colonel M'Donall, British Com- 



no OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



mander at Mackinac, had not been disinclined to make the 
most of the opportunity thus afforded him for strengthening 
his position. Every thing had been put in the most pert'eci 
order; weak points in the fortihcations had been strengthened, 
and such aid as the country afforded had been summoned to 
his assistance. Nor was this aid inconsiderable. Under the 
unfortunate circumstances attending the attack, more efficient 
auxiliaries could not have been found than those very savages 
who, during that brief period of delay, had gathered in large 
numbers upon the island. Batteries had been planted at vari- 
ous places on the heights which best commanded the approaches 
to the island. One was situated on the height overlooking the 
old distillery, another upon the high point just west of the fort, 
and others along the ridge back of the present town from the 
fort to Robinson's Folly. Thus that officer, though he had 
but few men comparatively in command, and must have sur- 
rendered at once had an immediate attack been made upon 
him, was able, with the advantage he had now gained, to with- 
stand a strong force. 

Various feelings agitated the inhabitants of the place as the 
squadron neared the island. Some had two years before parted 
with friends with whom they now hoped to be reunited, while 
others, who had turned traitor to the American flag, justly 
feared the gallows, should the approaching expedition succeed in 
taking the fort. 

Sinclair pushed up as near to the channel between Round 
and Mackinac Islands as he dared on account of the batteries 
of the enemy, and as close to the eastern extremity of Round 
Island as safety would permit, and anchored. Scarcely, how- 
ever, had the anchors reached the bottom, when the English 
opened a brisk fire upon him, and though he imagined himself 
beyond the reach of harm from that source, the balls that were 
falling around him and whizzing over his head told him that he 
must take a more respectful distance, or be destroyed. When 
the fleet had been removed farther away toward Bois Blanc, out 
of the reach of the enemy's guns, Croghan dispatched an officer 



WAR OF l8l2 CONCLUDED. HI 



with a number of men, and Mr. Davenport as guide, to Round 
Island, to reconnoiter the enemy's position, and if possible find 
some advantageous point at which to erect a battery. Having 
landed, the party proceeded cautiously across the island until 
they came to the point nearest Mackinac Island, when they 
began their return. They had selected, as the most advan- 
tageous position for a battery, a point just above the old lime- 
kiln seen from this village, which is the crowning point of the 
island. No sooner, however, had the movement been discovered 
by the British than two or three hundred birch -bark canoes 
with several batteaux and other boats, were launched, and a 
large party of Indians started in pursuit. They were not long 
in gaining the island. The party, suspicious of the approach 
of the Indians, hastened back toward their boat ; but the island 
was just at that time covered with a plentiful crop of rasp- 
berries, and the men, ignorant of the foe, loitered somewhat, in 
spite of all that could be said to them. When they reached 
their boat, the Indians could be seen skulking through the 
woods after them, and one of their number, a Frenchman, who 
had been more heedless than the rest, had been captured. They 
now sprang into their boat, and, we may believe, pushed off 
with as much dispatch as possible ; but at a short distance from 
the beach, scarcely out of reach of the enemy's fire, the boat 
struck a rock which was just beneath the surface of the water, 
and swung around as though upon a pivot. At this the savages, 
who were fast emerging from the thickets and approaching the 
beach, fired upon them. The fire was returned, but without 
execution on either side. Fearing that the Indians, upon arriv- 
ing at the fjpint from which they had embarked, would be able to 
reach them, the officer ordered the soldiers to cease firing and 
endeavor to clear the boat from the rock. This they accom- 
plished with a little exertion, and returned without further mishap 
to the fleet. 

Upon learning that one of the party sent out had been 
captured by the Indians, Sinclair ordered a small vessel of one 
gun to pass round to the farther side of the island, that, if 



112 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



possible, he might be retaken. A strong wind was blowing from 
the west, against which the little bark must make her way 
through the narrow channel that separates Round and Bois Blanc 
Islands ; hence, the task was difficult. She had scarcely laid her 
course when the beach was thronged with savages, and as often 
as she came in reach, in beating through this channel, these 
avages poured upon her a shower of musket-balls. This com- 
pliment was returned with much spirit ; but, aside from the injury 
done the vessel, neither party suffered loss. 

The Indians now began their return to Mackinac with their 
victim, chanting the death-dirge. A shot was fired at them 
from the Lawrence (anchored west of Round Island), but with- 
out effect. As they neared the island, the Indians that had 
remained came down to meet them, and the prisoner would 
have been killed and feasted upon by his inhuman captors, had 
not the British commander sent a strong guard of soldiers and 
rescued him, the moment the canoes touched the beach. 

During the next day, as the Lawrence was cruising about the 
island, a thick fog suddenly came down, and enveloped all in 
obscurity. When, later in the same day, this fog lifted, her 
commander found that he was within a very short distance of 
the south-west part of the island, with scarcely any wind, and 
within range of the enemy's guns. A vigorous fire was opened 
upon him from the battery near the west end of the fort, but 
with such want of skill that he suffered no damage from it. He 
fired a single shot in return, but could not elevate his guns 
sufficiently to batter the walls of the fort. Unfavorable weather 
prevented further operations for several days. 

Colonel Croghan, having now learned something of the 
strength of the enemy's fortifications, and of the number and 
spirit of the savage allies which the English had called to their 
assistance, despaired of being able to take the place by storm, 
as he had hoped. He therefore determined to effect a landing 
and establish himself on some favorable position, whence he 
might annoy the enemy by gradual and slow approaches, under 
cover of his artillery, which he knew to be superior to that of 



WAR OF l8l2 CONCLUDED. II3 



the foe. This he desired to attempt on the south-western side 
of the island, not far from that part of the present village known 
as Shanty Town. The shore there was unobstructed, and the 
ascent to the high table-land on which stands the fort compara- 
tively easy ; there were no coverts near, from which the savages 
might pour upon them a deadly fire ; there was no thick under- 
growth to be penetrated, in which might be laid the murderous 
ambuscade. If any attack should be made upon them on their 
way from the place of landing to the fort, it must be in an open 
field and with a chance for a fair fight, which Colonel Croghan 
knew to be contrary to every principle of Indian warfare. 

But there was one objection which Sinclair urged against a 
disembarkation at this point. The positions which his vessels 
would be obliged to take in order to effect it, would expose them 
to the fire of the fort, while he could not elevate his guns suf- 
ficently to do the enemy any injury. Hence, the idea was 
abandoned, and it was decided to land on the north-west side 
of the island, where Captain Roberts had landed two years 
before. 

A more unfortunate movement than this could not possibly 
have been made. The island, which is about three miles in 
diameter, is mostly covered with an almost impervious growth of 
small trees. A better Indian battle-field could not be found 
than what might be selected even to-day on tliis island. But if 
we step back across the chasm of more than half a century, and 
view it as it was when that little fleet was hovering around its 
beach in search of a safe and convenient landing, we shall see a 
very material change in it, as a whole, and that change we shall 
find to be favorable to the purposes of savage warfare. We can 
not suppose that the ax has lain idle for more than fifty years, 
that there has been no multiplication and enlargement of clear- 
ings, no thinning out of dense forests, no widening of Indian 
trails into wagon-roads. Indeed, authentic information, as well 
as reason, tells us that at that time the island was little less than 
a labyrinth. The mass of vegetation which every where covered 

it was intersected by foot-paths and occasional cart-roads, but 

8 



114 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



these were ill adapted to the wants of even a small army on the 
march. The clearings were small, and could serve only as so 
many slaughter-pens, in which the American troops might be 
butchered by blood-thirsty and unprincipled barbarians, concealed 
in the adjacent thickets. Who does not see that, on such 
ground, every Indian was more than a match for the best-disci- 
plined soldier, and that the large number of these savage auxil- 
iaries which the British commander had been able to collect 
during the absence of the fleet was far superior to any equal 
re-enforcement of regular troops he could have received ? By 
thus landing at a point nearly opposite the fort, Colonel Croghan 
was compelled, amidst these embarrassing obstacles, to traverse 
nearly the whole width of the island in order to reach the British 
position. It was a forlorn hope. No superiority of generalship 
could effect against such obstacles ; no perfection of military 
disciphne could counterbalance these dense thickets, swarming 
with fiends in human form. 

Colonel Croghan was too well acquainted with Indian military 
tactics, and also with that dastardly spirit of cowardice which 
for years had made the English the instigators of the most 
atrocious and bloody deeds that had ever stained the character 
of a savage, to be wholly unaware of the dangers before him. 
But, nothing daunted by these difficulties, this gallant officer pre- 
pared to disembark his forces, hoping to gain the clearing near 
the landing, and there fortify himself, thus compelling the British 
to attack him in his stronghold. 

On the 4th of August, the vessels of the fleet were ranged 
in line, at the distance of three hundred yards from the beach, 
and the small boats made ready to carry the devoted army to the 
island. Scarcely, however, had the work of disembarkation 
begun, when the adjacent thickets were observed to be full of 
savages, plumed and painted for the strife. When all was 
ready, and the word of command had been spoken, they moved 
toward the landing with measured dip of the oar, and meanwhile 
a brisk cannonading cleared the thickets of their lurking foes. 
Under cover of the guns the landing was easily effected, and the 



WAR OF l8l2 — CONCLUDED, II5 



best possible arrangement of the troops made, preparatory to the 
marching. 

While the American squadron had been cruising about the 
island, the English had taken every precaution to secure them- 
selves against surprise. Guards had been stationed at short in- 
tervals around the entire island, and every road and bridle-path 
intersecting the island had, with one exceptipn, been effectually 
blockaded. The road running from the rear gate of the fort 
back to Early's (then M. Dousman's) farm was alone left free. 
As soon as it became evident that the Americans intended to 
effect a landing, the whole Indian force, with the Canadians and 
most of the soldiers, moved back to that part of the island to 
resist the attempt. 

After we have passed through the gate on our way to Early's 
farm-house, we see upon our left an orchard through which runs 
a little ridge, crossing the road at right angles.* This ridge, at 
the time of which we write, formed the boundary-line of the 
clearing on the east. North and west from the house was a 
swamp, since converted into a meadow. Upon the south and 
south-west the clearing was the same as now, only more circum- 
scribed. The British troops were posted in the edge of the 
woods south from the road, and behind the elevation mentioned, 
while in the road, on the ridge, a battery was planted. To the 
north and south of the clearing, the Indians, with an occasional 
vagabond trader more brutal even than themselves, lay con- 
cealed in large numbers. 

Colonel Croghan, having quickly formed his line, had ad- 
vanced to the edge of the clearing, or farm, when intelligence 
reached him that the enemy was in waiting for him, and ready 
to dispute his progress. In a few seconds after he received this 
information, a fire was opened upon him from the enemy's 
battery. He now carefully surveyed the clearing before him, and 
became convinced that the enemy's position was well selected ; 
but, by a vigorous movement, he hoped to outflank him, and gain 



* See Map of Mackinac Island, fig. 3. 



Il6 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



his rear. Accordingly, he decided to change his own position, 
which was then "two lines, the militia forming the front," and 
advance, Major Holmes's battalion of regulars on the right of the 
militia. This movement was inimediatel}- ordered, and, to en- 
courage his men. Major Holmes led them in person ; but, while 
gallantly pressing on to the charge, a destructive fire was opened 
by some Indians concealed in a thicket near the American 
right, and the brave Major Holmes fell, mortally wounded. 
Captain Desha, the officer next in rank, also received a very 
severe, though not fatal, wound. The battalion having now lost 
the services of its most valuable officers, fell into confusion, from 
which the best exertions of its remaining officers were not able 
to recover it. 

Finding it impossible to gain the enemy's left, owing to the 
impenetrable thickness of the woods, a charge was ordered to 
be made by the regulars immediately against the front. This 
charge, though made in some confusion, served to drive the 
enemy back into the woods, whence an annoying fire was kept 
up by the Indians. Lieutenant Morgan was now ordered up 
with a light piece, to assist the left, which at this time was par- 
ticularly galled, and the excellent service of this piece forced the 
enemy to retire to a greater distance. 

Croghan had now reached the point at which he had hoped 
to fortify himself, and thence harass the enemy at pleasure ; but 
he found it by no means tenable on account of the thickets and 
ravines surrounding it. He therefore determined no longer to 
expose his troops to the fire of an enemy having every advan- 
tage which could be obtained from numbers, and a knowledge of 
the position, and ordered an immediate retreat to the place of 
landing. When the troops had regained the shipping, the fleet 
again moved round toward Bois Blanc, and anchored. 

While the forces were preparing to disembark, previous to 
the engagement, Mr. Davenport had urged Major Holmes to ex- 
change his uniform for a common suit, stating that the Indians 
would otherwise certainly make a mark of him ; but Holmes 
replied that his uniform was made to wear, and he intended to 



WAR OF l8l2 — CONCLUDED. 11/ 



wear it, adding that if it was his day to fall, he was willing. 
The sequel showed how unwise he was in not listening to this 
advice. The party of Indians posted on the right were Winne- 
bagoes from Green Bay — the most savage and cruel of all the 
British allies ; and they, indeed, did make a mark of him. Five 
well-aimed bullets simultaneously entered his breast, and he ex- 
pired almost instantly. Captain Desha also felt the fury of these 
savages, but fortunately escaped with his life. Captain Vanhorn 
and Lieutenant Jackson, both brave, intrepid young men, also 
fell mortally wounded at the head of their respective commands. 
Twelve privates were killed, six sergeants, three corporals, one 
musician, and twenty-eight privates wounded, and two privates 
missing. 

The most shocking barbarities were practiced on the bodies 
of the slain. They were literally cut to pieces by thei rsavage 
conquerors. Our informant remembers seeing the Indians come 
to the fort after the engagement, some with a hand, some with a 
head, and some with a foot or limb ; and it is officially stated by 
Sinclair, upon the testimony of two ladies (Mrs. Davenport and 
Mrs. John Dousman), who were present and witnessed it, that 
the hearts and livers of these unfortunate men were taken out, 
and " actually cooked and feasted on — and that, too, in the 
quarters of the British officers, sanctioned by Colonel M'Donall — 
by the savages." Fragments of these bodies were taken to 
the Indian graveyard west of the village, and placed on poles 
over the graves, where they remained for ten days. Fortunately, 
however, the body of Major Holmes— which, by neglect of the 
soldiers in whose hands it had been placed, had been left on the 
field— escaped the sad fate of the others. During the action 
these men concealed the body by covering it with rails and 
leaves, so that the Indians did not find it. It had, however, 
been stripped ; but in this case the British commander acted with 
promptness and humanity, threatening to hang the perpetrators, 
should they be found out, if the articles taken were not imme- 
diately returned. This threat soon brought the clothes, watch, 
papers, etc., which had been stolen by two Frenchmen, into 



Il8 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



his possession ; and, with the body, they were given up to the 
Americans. 

Thus, in loss and disgrace, ended the effort to wrest Fort 
Mackinac and the island upon which it stands from the English. 
When the fleet first appeared off Light-house Point, there was 
but a single company of troops in the fort, and but few, if any, 
Indian auxiliaries upon the island, and had Colonel Croghan at 
once demanded a surrender instead of at first going to St. 
Joseph's, the post would doubtless have passed back into the 
hands of the Americans without shedding of blood, and with as 
little parley as, two years before, it had passed into the hands 
of the English. Or, had a prompt and willing surrender been 
refused, a vigorous attack must have quickly reduced the gar- 
rison to the necessity of yielding, as the American force was 
greatly superior to the English. But the delay was pregnant 
with disaster and disgrace. Each moment in whicli the enemy 
was permitted to strengthen his defenses and increase his num- 
bers, diminished fearfully the chances of success. Kvtn after 
the return, had the landing been made at the point desired by 
Colonel Croghan, defeat might have been avoided, as under 
those circumstances the Indian allies would have been nearly 
useless ; but as it was, defeat was almost a necessity. An army 
of iron men could scarcely have traversed the whole breadth of 
this island under the rapid and continuous shower of musket- 
balls which would have been poured upon them, without faltering 
and falling into confusion. 

Having failed in the reduction of Fort Mackinac, which Sin- 
clair denominated a "perfect Gibraltar," measures were now 
taken to starve it into submission, by cutting off its supplies. 
The troops, with the exception of three companies, were dis- 
patched in two vessels to join General Brown on the Niagara, 
and the remainder of the squadron, a pilot having been now se- 
cured, directed its course to the east side of the lake, to break up 
any establishments which the enemy might have in that quarter. 
While the Americans were masters of Lake Erie, there were 
only two practicable lines of communication between the remote 



WAR OF l8l2 CONCLUDED. 1 19 



garrison of Fort Mackinac and the lower country. The first of 
these was with Montreal by way of the Ottawa, Lake Nippising, 
and French River, and the second with York by means of Lake 
Simcoe and the Nautauwasaga River. Having learned that the 
first of these communications was impracticable at that season 
of the year, on account of the marshy state of the portages, they 
proceeded to the mouth of the Nautauwasaga, in hopes of find- 
ing the enemy's schooner Nancy, which was thought to be in that 
quarter. On the 13th of August, the fleet anchored off the mouth 
of that river, and the troops were quickly disembarked for the 
purpose of fixing a camp on the peninsula formed by the river and 
the lake. On reconnoitering the position, the schooner was dis- 
covered in the river, a few hundred yards above, under cover of 
a block-house erected on a commanding situation on the opposite 
shore. On the following morning a fire was opened by the ship- 
ping upon the block-house, but with little effect, owing to a thin 
wood which intervened and obscured the view. But about twelve 
o'clock two howitzers were landed, and, placed within a few 
hundred yards of the block-house, commenced throwing shells. 
In a few minutes one of these shells burst in the block-house 
and shortly after blew up the magazine, allowing the enemy 
scarcely time to make his escape. The explosion of the maga- 
zine set fire to a train which had been laid for the destruction 
of the vessel, and in a few minutes she was enveloped in flames, 
and her valuable cargo, consisting of several hundred barrels of 
provisions, intended as a six months' supply for the garrison at 
Mackinac, was entirely consumed. 

Colonel Croghan did not think it advisable to fortify and 
garrison Nautauwasaga, because the communication from York 
was so short and convenient that any force left there might be 
easily cut off during the Winter ; hence, Sinclair left the Tigress 
and Scorpion to blockade it closely until the season should be- 
come too boisterous for boat transportation, and the remainder 
of the squadron returned to Detroit. 

But this blockade, which, had it been properly enforced, 
must speedily have made a bloodless conquest of Mackinac, 



120 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



was soon brought to an end by the capture of both these 
schooners. 

After the destruction of the JVancy, her captain, with several 
of his men, at once repaired to Fort Mackinac to communcate 
the news of the loss to Colonel M'Donall and the little garrison 
under his command. Under the circumstances, it was unwel- 
come news indeed. Provisions were already getting low ; a 
single loaf of bread was worth one dollar and a half, the men 
were subsisting on half rations, and had already been reduced 
to the necessity of killing several horses to ward off starvation. 
And, worse than all, a long and dreary Winter was near at hand, 
portending, under the circumstances, nothing but death from 
starvation. Something must be done ; and accordingly an ex- 
pedition was at once fitted out by Colonel M'Donall, consisting 
of a force of a hundred and fifty sailors and soldiers, and two 
hundred and fifty Indians, in open boats, to break the blockade, 
if possible. When this party had arrived in the vicinity of the 
American vessels, the Tigress, which for several days had been 
separated from the Scorpion, was surprised and boarded during 
the night of September 3d, it being very dark, and after a 
desperate hand to hand struggle, in which some were killed and 
several wounded, was captured. During the contest, an attempt 
was made by the Americans to destroy the signal-book, but, 
unfortunately, without success ; and by the aid of this book the 
Tigress, now manned by English officers and men, surprised 
and captured the Scorpion on the morning of the 6th, at dawn 
of day. This was a finishing stroke to the ill-fated enterprise, 
and Mackinac was left secure in the hands of the English until 
peace was declared. 

During the following Winter, 1814-15, peace was concluded 
between the belligerent nations, and in the Spring the post was 
evacuated by the English, and a company of American troops, 
under Colonel Chambers, took peaceable possession. 




MAP OF MACKINAW ISLAND. 



1. Battle Ground. 4. Place of Burial 

2. Po.sition of American gun. 5. Parade Ground. 

3. Position of British gun. 6. Fort Mackinac. 



7. Mission House. 

8. Island House. 

9. School House. 



/ 



MACKINAC ISLAND. 



121 



CHAPTER VIII. 



MACKINAC ISLAND. 



THIS island, as far back as we have any account of it, 
has been a place of great interest. It received its orig- 
inal name from the Indians. An old legend relates that a 
large number of these people were once assembled at Point 
St. Ignace, and, while intently gazing at the rising of the sun, 
during the Great Manitou, or February Moon, they beheld the 
island suddenly rise up from the water, assuming its present 
form. From the point of observation, it bore a fancied resem- 
blance to the back of a huge turtle ; hence, they gave it the 
name Moc'che'ne'mock'e'nung, which means a great turtle. 
This name, when put into a French dress, became Michilimack- 
inac. From the island it passed to the adjacent points. In 
some connections in the early history, the name is applied to 
the section as a whole; in others, to the point north of the 
Straits; but more frequently to that south of the Straits, now 
known as Old Mackinac. The term is now obsolete, except 
as applied to the county which lies immediately north of the 
Straits, in which the island is included. The island has now 
taken upon itself the name of Mackinac, pronounced Mack- 
inaw ; ac is the original French termination. 

Indian mythology makes this island the home of the Giant 
Fairies; hence, the Indians have always regarded it with a 
species of veneration. The day is still within the memory of 
many individuals now living on the island when the heathen 
Indians, in passing to and fro by its shores, made offerings of 
tobacco and other articles to these Great Spirits, to propitiate 
their good-will. These fairies, we are told, had a subterranean 



122 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



abode under the island, the entrance to which was near the 
base of the hill, just below the present southern gate of the 
fort. An old Indian Chees'a'kee, or Spiritualist, who once 
encamped within the limits of the present garrison, is related 
to have visited this abode of the fairies under the following 
circumstances : During the night, while wrapped in the uncon- 
sciousness of a sound slumber, one of these spirits approached 
the place where he was, laid his shadowy hand upon him, and 
beckoned him to follow. In obedience to the mysterious re- 
quest, his spirit left the body, and went with the fairy. Together 
they entered into the mystic dwelling-place of the spirits. Here 
the Cheesakee was introduced to the Great Spirits assembled 
in solemn conclave. He was lost in wonder and admiration at 
what he saw around him. The place where they were assem- 
bled seemed to be a very large and beautiful wigwam. After 
spending some time in the fairy abode, the master-spirit of the 
assembly directed one of the lesser spirits to show the Indian 
out, and conduct him back to his body. What were the pro- 
ceedings of that assembly, the Indian could not be induced 
to tell, nor were the particulars of what he saw during that 
mysterious visit ever made known to his fellow red-men. From 
their fairy abodes, these spirits issued forth at the twilight 
hour to engage, "with rapid step and giddy whirl, in their mystic 
dance." 

Something of the feeling of veneration which the red men 
had for this, to them, enchanted island, may be learned from 
the following soliloquy of an old Indian chief. He was just 
leaving the island to visit his friends in the Lake Superior 
country. The shades of night were falling around him, and 
the deep-blue outlines of the island were dimly shadowed forth. 
As he sat upon the deck of the steamer and watched the 
"lovely isle" fast receding from his view, memory was busy 
in recalling the scenes of by-gone days, and the emotions of 
his heart found expression in these words : 

" Moc'che'ne'mock'e'nung, thou isle of the clear, deep-water 
lake, how soothing it is, from amidst the curling smoke of my 



MACKINAC ISLAND. I23 



opawgun (pipe), to trace thy deep blue outlines in the distance; 
to call from memory's tablets the traditions and stories con- 
nected with thy sacred and mystic character ! How sacred the 
regard with which thou hast been once clothed by our Indian 
seers of by-gone days ! How pleasant in imagination for the 
mind to picture and view, as if now present, the time when 
the Great Spirit allowed a peaceful stillness to dwell around 
thee ; when only light and balmy winds were permitted to pass 
over thee, hardly ruffling the mirror surface of the waters that 
surrounded thee ; or to hear, by evening twilight, the sound of 
the Giant Fairies as they, with rapid step and giddy whirl, 
dance their mystic dance on thy limestone battlements ! Noth- 
ing then disturbed thy quiet and deep solitude but the chipper- 
ing of birds and the rustling of the leaves of the silver-barked 
birch." But these fairy spirits have long since deserted their 
island home, and gone, we know not where ; and the race of 
beings in whose imagination they lived has also well-nigh 
passed away. 

From Father Marquette's description of the island, given in 
a previous chapter, we learn that it was often the chosen home 
of the savage tribes. Marquette was doubtless the first white 
man to visit it, or at least to dwell upon it. The first perma- 
nent white settlement on this island was made in 1780, when 
the fort and town were removed to this point, not because of 
its superiority in a commercial or military point of view, but 
for the security which it afforded against the surrounding 
Indian tribes. Had that one event of June 4, 1763,* never 
occurred, this island would no doubt have still been in the 
hands of nature, and the fort and town at " Old Mackinac," 
where they properly belong. 

Contrary to the treaty of 1783, the English held possession 
of the island until 1795, when they were compelled to give it 
up. The size and population of the town has varied at differ- 
ent stages of its history. In 1820 it consisted "of about one 

* See page 62. 



124 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



hundred and fifty houses, and some four hundred and fifty per- 
manent inhabitants." At that time there was no school, no 
religious service, no attorney, and no physician (other than at 
the garrison) in the place. There were, however, courts of 
law, a post-office, a jail, and one or more justices of the peace. 
At present, there are about nine hundred inhabitants, many of 
whom are engaged in fishing, and absent during a greater part 
of the Summer. 

The most interesting feature of the island, since the war of 
1812, has been its connection with the fur-trade carried on by 
John Jacob Astor, Esq., of New York. Previous to 1S09, an 
association of traders existed, called the Mackinac Company ; 
but at that date Mr. Astor organized the American Fur Com- 
pany. Two years after this, he bought out the Mackinac Com- 
pany, and established a new Company known as the South-west. 
During the Winter of 1815 and 1816, Congress enacted a lav/ 
that no foreigner should engage in trade with the Indians who 
did not become a citizen, and after this Mr. Astor again estab- 
lished the American Company. This Company was organized 
with a capital of two million dollars. It had no chartered right 
to a monopoly of the Indian trade, yet by its wealth and influ- 
ence it virtually controlled that trade through a long series of 
years. The outposts of the Company were scattered through- 
out the whole West and North-west. This island was the great 
central mart. The goods were brought to the Company's store- 
houses at this point from New York by way of the lakes, and 
from Quebec and Montreal by way of the Ottawa, Lake Nipis- 
sing, and French River, and from this point they were dis- 
tributed to all the outposts; while from all the Indian countries 
the furs were annually brought down to the island by the Com- 
pany's agents, whence they were sent to New York, Quebec, 
or the various markets of the Old World. The traders and their 
clerks who went into " the countries " were employed by the 
Company at a salary of from four to six hundred dollars per 
year, but the engages or boatmen who were engaged in Canada, 
generally for five years, received, besides a yearly supply of a 



MACKINAC ISLAND. 125 



few coarse articles of clothing, less than one hundred dollars per 
annum. Generally, at the end of five years, the poor voyageurs 
were in debt from fifty to one hundred and fifty dollars, which 
they must pay before they could leave the country; and the 
trader often took advantage of this, even encouraging the men 
to get in debt, that they might avoid the necessity of introduc- 
ing new and inexperienced men into the country. The men 
were fed mainly on soup made of hulled corn, or sometimes of 
peas, with barely tallow enough to season it, and without salt, 
unless they purchased it themselves at a high price. The goods 
were put up in bales or packs of about eighty pounds each, to 
be carried into the countries. Upon setting out, a certain num- 
ber of these packs were assigned to each boatman, which he 
must carry upon his back across the portages, some of which 
were fifty miles over. They performed the journeys over these 
portages by short stages, or by carrying the packs but a short 
distance at a time, thus never permitting their goods to be 
separated. The route of travel to the head-waters of the Mis- 
sissippi was by way of Lake Huron, St. Mary's River, Lake 
Superior, and such rivers as would take them nearest the par- 
ticular points to which the various parties had been assigned. 
The valleys of the Mississippi and the Missouri were reached 
by way of Green Bay, Fox, and Wisconsin Rivers. The traders 
often occupied nearly the whole Summer in the trip from their 
trading-posts to Mackinac and back. 

Mr. Astor's principal agent on this island was Ramsey 
Crooks, to whom, with others, he sold out in 1834 ; but the trade 
now lacked the energy and controlling influence which Mr. 
Astor had given it, and the Company soon became involved. In 
1848, the business was closed, and the property sold. In its 
best days, the business was one of mammoth proportions ; but it 
exists now only in history. 

Schoolcraft gives the following description of the state of 
society in 1820 : " Society at Michilimackinac consists of so 
many diverse elements, which impart their hue to it, that it is not 
easy for a passing traveler to form any just estimate of it. The 



126 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



Indian, with his plumes and gay and easy costume, always im- 
parts an Oriental air to it. To this the Canadian — gay, thouglit- 
kss, ever bent on the present, and caring nothing for to-morrow — 
adds another phase. The trader, or interior clerk, who takes his 
outfit of goods to the Indians, and spends eleven months of the 
year in toil and want and petty traffic, appears to dissipate his 
means with a sailor-like improvidence in a few weeks, and then 
returns to his forest wanderings, and boiled corn, pork, and wild 
rice again supply his wants. There is, in these periodical resorts 
to the central quarters of the Fur Company, much to remind one 
of the old feudal manners, in which there is proud hospitality and 
a show of lordliness on the one side, and gay obsequiousness and 
cringing dependence on the other, at least till the annual bar- 
gains for the trade are closed." 

The elements of the present population are much the same 
as during the palmy days of the fur-trade. Indians, primitive 
possessors of the " beautiful isle," are still present, and constitute 
no inconsiderable portion of the inhabitants. Many of the old 
French and English voyageurs, who have spent the best part of 
their lives in the employ of the fur-trade, are also living upon 
the island. The population is mixed. English, French, and 
Indian blood frequently flows in the veins of the same family. 
Aside from the original population, there are several very ex- 
cellent families, who have come to the place at a comparatively 
recent date. 

The town' itself is a perfect curiosity. It is situated at the 
foot of the bluff, upon the brow of which stands the fort, and 
extends for the distance of about a mile around the beach. It 
contains two churches, four good hotels, capable of accommo- 
dating from thirty to two hundred guests each, seven stores, and 
four or five groceries, about one hundred dwelling houses, a post- 
office, court-house, and jail. Some of the buildings are of modern 
architecture, but others are antique in design and appearance. 
There are buildings yet standing, parts of which were brought 
from Old Mackinac when the town and fort were removed from 
that point, while several of the houses, some of which are yet 




ll^^^^j^^ , ; ;■! i^1=rr*p^g^-; 



^mm 



m 



iiiia 




MACKINAC ISLAND. 127 



occupied, were standing during the troubled and exciting scenes 
of 1812. Many of tlie fences are of the original palisade style. 
Let us make the circuit of the town, starting from the docks. 
As we proceed along the beach toward the West, we see build- 
ings of every description, from the most modern style down to 
the shanty with clapboards and shingles of bark. Beyond the 
extreme western limits of Shanty Town is the site of the old 
distillery, where, in 1812, the terrified and trembling inhabitants 
were gathered for safety while Captain Roberts, with his savage 
allies, should possess himself of the fort and island. Above this 
is the old Indian burying-ground, where still sleeps the moldering 
■dust of many a brave son of the forest. Retracing our steps, we 
turn to the left and pass through Shanty Town, principally oc- 
cupied by fishermen, who are absent during most of the Summer. 
The fishing-grounds extend from Drummond's Island, near 
Detour, around the north shores of Huron and Michigan to 
Green Bay, including the islands in the northern portion of both 
these lakes. As we return to the town, on the back street we 
notice on the right the old Catholic burying-ground, upon which 
once stood the old log church brought from Old Mackinac after 
the massacre. Farther along, upon the same side of the road, is 
an antique house with huge stone chimneys and dormer win- 
dows, which, during the war of 1812, was occupied by Dr. 
Mitchell. Mitchell was a traitor, and after the return of peace, 
had to leave the island and country for Canada. Adjoining the 
court-house is the old store-house of the American Fur Com- 
pany, which was the place of deposit and point of departure for 
all the merchandise of that Company. The adjacent building, 
now the M'Leod House,* was put up by the Company for the 
accommodation of the clerks when they came out of the Indian 
countries during the Summer. 

Returning now to the point from which we set out, let us 
make our way toward the eastern extremity of the town. The 
large garden upon our left as we leave the business portion of 

* See map, fig. 10. 



128 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



the town, belongs to the fort. It is cultivated by the soldiers 
of the garrison, and does much toward supplying them with 
vegetables of almost every variety. Potatoes, beets, carrots, 
radishes, onions, cabbage, cucumbers, etc., are produced in 
great abundance and of the best quality. Cherries, currants, 
strawberries, and other small fruits also grow plentifully in this 
nd other gardens ; and from one tree, standing near the fort 
barn, twenty-two barrels of apples were taken at a single 
gathering, a few years since. In this garden is the site of 
the old government or council house, the first building ever 
erected upon the island. 

Adjoining the garden on the east is the old agency prop- 
erty.* The house was erected about fifty years ago by the Gov- 
ernment, as a residence and office for the United States Indian 
Agent. For many years all the Indian payments were made in 
this building, which was thus made to subserve the same gen- 
eral purpose as the old government-house. The other building, 
called the dormitor)-, now occupied by the union-school of the 
place,t was erected by the Government for the accommodation 
of the Indians during their periodical visits to the island for 
the purpose of receiving their annuities, but never much used 
by them. The next building which attracts particular attention 
is the Catholic church. This was at first a small log building, 
erected in 1832 by Father Mazzuchelli, but, with two enlarge- 
ments, it has grown to its present dimensions. The society is 
now contemplating the erection of a new and more commodious 
edfice. 

At the extreme eastern end of the town is the mission t prop- 
erty, now in possession of Mr. E. A. Franks, the house being 
kept by him as a hotel. The history of this mission is briefly as 
follows : In the month of June, in the year 1820, the Rev. Dr. 



* Burned since above was written. 

t This building has now been donated to the citizens of Mackinac for 
school purposes. 
X See map, fig. 7. 






1 
I. 



Ift ' - '^^^ 



wmr. : 



ns\ -I -0. 



^MWIlAlMIMMMMIlB 



ill ' 





ilf- 



I 
1 






MACKINAC ISLAND. 1 29 



Morse, father of the inventor of the telegraph, visited this island, 
and preached the first Protestant sermon ever delivered in this 
portion of the North-west. Becoming particularly interested in 
the condition of the traders and natives, he made a report of 
his visit to the United Foreign Mission Society of New York, in 
consequence of which the Rev. W. M. Ferry, a graduate of 
Union College, was sent in 1822 to explore the field. In 1823, 
Mr. Ferry, with his wife, opened a school for Indian children 
which, before the close of the year, contained twelve scholars. 
In 1826, the school and little church passed into the hands of 
the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and 
as Mackinac was easy of access to the Indians of the lakes and 
the Upper Mississippi, it was determined to make it a central sta- 
tion, at which there should be a large boarding-school, composed 
of children collected from all the North-western tribes. These 
children were expected to remain long enough to acquire a com- 
mon-school education and a knowledge of manual labor. Shops 
and gardens were provided for the lads, and the girls were trained 
for household duties. The first report of the mission made to 
the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was 
at the meeting held in New York in September, 1827. It con- 
tained the following facts : Number of teachers, eight ; Rev. 
William M. Ferry, Superintendent ; Mr. John S. Hudson, teacher 
and farmer ; Mr. Heydenburk and wife, Mrs. Hudson, Miss 
Eunice Osmer, Miss Elizabeth M'Farland, and Miss Delia 
Cooke, teachers ; there were one hundred and twelve scholars in 
the school, who had been collected from the whole region ex- 
tending from the white settlements south of the Great Lakes to 
Red River and Lake Athabasca ; there had been several inter- 
esting cases of conversion ; French priests had occasionally vis- 
ited the region, and opposed the mission to the extent of their 
power. 

During the Winter of 1828-9, ^ revival influence prevailed. 
Thirty-three were added to the Church, and ten or twelve others 
appeared to have become penitent for sin. Instances of con- 
version occurred even in the depths of the wilderness, among 

9 



130 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



the traders. The Church now numbered fifty-two members — 
twenty-five of Indian descent and twenty-seven whites, exclusive 
of the mission family. The establishment continued prosperous 
for several years. At times there were nearly two hundred pupils 
in the school, among whom were representatives of nearly all 
the Indian tribes to the north and west. 

Owing to the great expense of the school, the plan was mod- 
ified in 1833, the number of scholars being limited to fifty, and 
smaller stations commenced in the region beyond Lake Superior 
and the Mississippi. In 1834, Mr. Ferry was released from the 
mission ; and in 1837, the population having so changed around 
Mackinac, and the resort of the Indians to the island for pur- 
poses of trade having so nearly ceased that it was no longer an 
advantageous site for an Indian mission, the enterprise was 
abandoned. 

7'he mission-house was erected in 1825, and the church in 
1829-30. After the close of the mission, the property passed 
into the hands of the present occupant. We can not say how 
much or how little was accomplished by this mission ; the reve- 
lations of eternity alone will give full and reliable information on 
this point. We only know that many who would otherwise have 
been left in ignorance and heathenism are indebted to the Chris- 
tian efforts of these missionaries for a knowledge both of the arts 
and sciences, and of the way of salvation. 

Having now made the circuit of the town, we are ready for 
the two forts. Fort Mackinac, which stands on a rocky eminence 
just above the town, was built by the English ninety years ago. 
It is now garrisoned by a small company of United States troops 
under the command of Brevet Major Leslie Smith. There are 
six brass pieces, and arms and accouterments for a full company. 
The buildings are a hospital, just outside the wall east of the 
fort ; a guard-house, near the south-gate ; officers' quarters, near 
the south-west angle of the fort, and on the hill near the flag- 
staff; quarters for the men, in the center; block-houses on the 
walls; magazine, in the hollow, not far from the south gate; 
Store-houses, offices, etc. There are persons yet living on the 



•Si 

H 
> 

CO 

o 

:! 
o 




MACKINAC ISLAND, 



131 



island who, during the troubles of 18 14, took refuge in these 
self-same block-houses. Passing out at the rear gate of Fort 
Mackinac, we cross the parade-ground, and see the spot where 
Captain Roberts planted his guns in 18 12, while his whole force 
of Indians was concealed in the adjacent thickets. 

Half or three-quarters of a mile to the rear of Fort Macki- 
nac, on the crowning point of the island, is Fort Holmes. This, 
as we have seen, was built soon after the British captured the 
post in 1812. Each citizen was compelled to give three days' 
work toward its construction. When finished, the excavation 
encircling the embankment, or earthworks, was much broader 
and deeper than now, and the embankment itself was lined on 
the outside by cedar poles, reaching from the bottom of the 
ditch to its top ; while a quarter or a third of the distance from 
the top of the embankment to the bottom of the ditch, cedar 
pickets interlocked with these poles, which extended out over 
the ditch like the eaves of a house, making it absolutely im- 
possible for any one to get inside the fort except by the gate. 
The place of the gate is seen on the east side, one of the posts 
yet remaining to mark its position. In the center of the fort 
was erected a huge block-house, beneath which was the maga- 
zine. Near the gate was the entrance to several underground 
cellars, which have now caved in. The fort was defended by 
several small guns, the largest of which was an eighteen-pounder, 
placed on the point, on the opposite side of the cellars from the 
fort. They undertook to dig two wells ; but, finding no water at 
the depth of one hundred feet, they became discouraged, and 
relinquished the attempt. 

The fort, we are told, presented a very fine appearance when 
finished. It was first named Fort George ; but, after the surren- 
der of the island to the Americans, it was called Fort Holmes, 
in memory of the lamented Major Holmes, who fell as before 
recorded.* 

After the return of the Americans, a party of officers, wishing 

* See page 116. 



132 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



to see what they could do, planted a gun at the rear gate of Fort 
Mackinac, and made the block-house in Fort Holmes a mark. 
They soon tore this monument of English absurdity in pieces, 
showing how ill-adapted the fort was to the purposes intended. 
The fragments of the building were afterward removed to the 
foot of the hill beneath Fort Mackinac, and made into a barn, 
which is yet standing. 




ARCH ROCK. 



MACKINAC ISLAND — CONCLUDED. '33 



CHAPTER IX. 



MACKINAC ISLAND— CONCLUDED. 

THK natural scenery of the island of Mackinac is unsur- 
p.i,ss( d. Nature seems to have exhausted herself in the 
clustered objects of interest which every-where meet the eye. 
The lover of nature may wander through the shaded glens, and 
climb over the rugged rocks of this island for weeks, and even 
months, and never grow weary ; for each day some new object of 
beauty and interest will attract his attention. As you approach 
the island, it appears a perfect gem. A finer subject for an 
artist's pencil could not be found. In some places it rises 
almost perpendicularly from the very water's edge to the height 
of one hundred and fifty feet, while in others the ascent is 
gradual. Parts of the island are covered with a small growth of 
hard-wood trees — beech, maple, iron-wood, birch, etc. — while 
other parts abound in a rich variety of evergreens, among which 
spruce, arbor-vit£e, ground-pine, white-pine, balsam, and juniper 
predominate. Henry R. Schoolcraft, Esq., who first visited the 
island in 1820, thus speaks of it: 

" Nothing can exceed the beauty of this island. It is a 
mass of calcareous rock, rising from the bed of Lake Huron, and 
reaching an elevation of more than three hundred feet above the 
water. The waters around are purity itself. Some of its cliffs 
shoot up perpendicularly, and tower in pinnacles, like ruinous 
Gothic steeples. It is cavernous in some places ; and in these 
caverns the ancient Indians, like those of India, have placed 
their dead. Portions of the beach are level, and adapted to 
landing from boats and canoes. The harbor, at its south end, is 
a little gem. Vessels anchor in it, and find good holding. The 



134 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



little, old-fashioned French town nestles around it in a very 
primitive style. The fort frowns above it, like another Alhambra, 
its white walls gleaming in the sun. The whole area of the island 
is one labyrinth of curious little glens and valleys. Old green 
fields apiDear, in some spots, which have been formerly cultivated 
by the Indians. In some of these there are circles of gathered- 
up stones, as if the Druids themselves had dwelt here. The 
soil, though rough, is fertile, being the comminuted materials of 
broken-down limestones. The island was formerly covered with 
a dense growth of rock-maples, oaks, iron-wood, and other hard- 
wood species ; and there are still parts of this ancient forest left, 
but all the southern limits of it exhibit a young growth. There 
are walks and winding paths among its little hills, and precipices 
of the most romantic character. And whenever the visitor gets 
on eminences overlooking the lake, he is transported with sub- 
lime views of a most illimitable and magnificent water-prospect. 
If the poetic muses are ever to have a new Parnassus in Amer- 
ica, they should inevitably fix on Michilimackinac. Hygeia, 
too, should place her temple here ; for it has one of the purest, 
driest, clearest, and most healthful atmospheres." 

The geological aspects of the island are curious and inter- 
esting. At its base may be seen the rocks of the Onondaga 
Salt group, above which, says Professor Winchell, State Geol- 
ogist of Michigan, " the well-characterized limestones of the 
Upper Heidelberg group, to the thickness of two hundred and 
fifty feet, exist in a confusedly brecciated condition. The indi- 
vidual fragments of the mass are angular, and seem to have 
been but little moved from their original places. It appears as 
if the whole formation had been shattered by sudden vibrations 
and unequal uplifts, and afterward a thin calcareous mud 
poured over the broken mass, percolating through all the inter- 
stices, and re-cementing the fragments. 

" This is the general physical character of the mass ; but in 
many places the original lines of stratification can be traced, and 
individual layers of the formation can be seen dipping at various 
angles and in all directions, sometimes exhibiting abrupt 



w ^ 




MACKINAC ISLAND CONCLUDED, 135 



flexures, and not infrequently a complete downthrow of fifteen 
or twenty feet. These phenomena were particularly noticed at 
the Clifif known as 'Robinson's Folly.' 

" In the highest part of the island, back of Old Fort Holmes, 
the formation is much less brecciated, and exhibits an oolitic 
character, as first observed in the township of Bedford, in 
Monroe County." . . . 

"The island of Mackinac shows the most indubitable evi- 
dence of the former prevalence of the water to the height of 
two hundred and fifty feet above the present level of the lake ; 
and there has been an unbroken continuance of the same kind 
of aqueous action from that time during the gradual subsidence 
of the waters to their present condition. No break can be de- 
tected in the evidences of this action from the present water- 
line upward for thirty, fifty, or one hundred feet, and even up to 
the level of the grottoes excavated in the brecciated materials 
of ' Sugar-loaf,' the level of ' Skull Cave,' and the ' Devil's 
Kitchen.' 

" While we state the fact, however, of the continuity of the 
action during all this period, it is not intended to allege that the 
water of the lakes, as such, has ever stood at the level of the 
summit of Sugar-loaf Nor do we speak upon the question 
whether these changes have been caused by the subsidence of 
the lakes, or the uplift of the island and adjacent promontories. 
It is true that the facts presented bear upon these and 
other interesting questions ; but we must forego any discussion 
of them." 

In a private communication to the writer, the author of these 
extracts states that, in his opinion, there has been some elevation 
of the island and adjacent regions, but more subsidence of the 
water. The island and neighboring promontories were once 
continuous with each other, the isolation having been effected by 
denudation ; " much of which," says the same eminent author, 
"was probably effected during the prevalence of the continental 
glacial, an i much during the time of floods following, and the 
action of the sea while the region was submerged." Springs of 



136 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



water, clear and cold, may be found at the base of the high 
cliffs which bound many parts of the island, and also at other lo- 
calities in its interior. The geology of the surrounding islands 
and promontories is much the same as that of this island. 

With these general ideas, descriptive and geological, we may 
now proceed to visit the various places of interest. Starting 
from Fort Mackinac, let us follow the foot-path along the brow of 
the bluff overlooking the eastern part of the town. If fond of 
natural scenery, we shall be delighted with the grand panorama 
of nature, the successive scenes of which will be presented to us 
as we proceed. Half or three-quarters of a mile from the fort, at 
the south-eastern angle of the island, is the overhanging cliff 
known as "Robinson's Folly."* The following is the interesting 
history of this point : After the removal of the fort to the island, 
in 1780, Captain Robinson, who then commanded the post, had 
a Summer-house built upon this cliff. This soon became a place 
of frequent resort for himself and his brother officers. Pipes, 
cigars, and wine were called into requisition — for at the time no 
hospitality or entertainment was complete without them — and 
thus many an hour, which would otherwise have been lonely and 
tedious, passed pleasantly away. After a few years, however, by 
the action of the elements, a portion of this cliff, with the Sum- 
mer-house, was precipitated to the base of the rock, which disas- 
trous event gave rise to the name. Around the beach below is 
a confused mass of debris, the remains, doubtless, of the fall. 

A little to the north of Robinson's Folly may be seen an 
immense rock standing out boldly from the mountain's side, 
near the base of which is a very beautiful little arch, known as 
the " Arch of the Giant's Stairway." This arch is well worth 
the trouble of a visit. 

A walk along the beach northward from this point is some- 
what difficult, on account of the large portions of the cliffs 
which have in places been precipitated to the water's edge ; but 
a good foot-path along the brow of the bluff brings us, with 



See Map of the Island. 



MACKINAC ISLAND CONCLUDED. 



137 



only a few minutes' walk, to the far-famed " Arch Rock." 
This is one of nature's works which must be seen to be appre- 
ciated. Words can not fully describe it in all its grandeur. It 
is a magnificent natural arch, spanning a chasm of eighty or 
ninety feet in height, ~~- - 

and forty or fifty in ^^ 

width. The summit of ^%r- 

this rock is one hundred _"' 

and forty-nine feet above 
the level of the lake. 
Its abutments are com- 
posed of calcareous 
rock, and the opening 
underneath the arch has 
been produced by tlic 
falling down of the 
great masses of rock 
now to be seen upon the 
beach below. A path 
to the right leads to the 
brink of the arch, 
whence the visitor, if 
sufficiently reckless, may 
pass to its summit, which 
is about' three feet in 
width. Here we see 
twigs, of cedar growing 
out of what appears to 
be solid rock, while in the rear and on either hand the lofty emi- 
nence is clothed with trees and shrubbery — maple, birch, poplar, 
cedar, and balsam — giving to the landscape richness and variety. 
Before us are the majestic waters of Lake Huron, dotted in the 
distance with islands. We may now descend through the great 
chasm, " arched by the hand of God," and at the base of the 
projecting angle of the main rock find a second arch less mag- 
uiuceiit, but no less curious and wonderful. Passing under this, 




Arcli Kock. 



138 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



we soon reach the beach below, whence the view is particularly 
grand and imposing. The mighty aich seems suspended in mid 
air above us ; and as we gaze upon it, lost in wonder and admira- 
tiouj we exclaim with the Psalmist, " Lord, what is man that 
thou takest knowledge of him, or the son of man that thou 
makest account of him ?" Foster and Whitney say of this rock 
" The portion supporting the arch on the north side, and the 
curve of the arch itself, are comparatively fragile, and can not for 
a long period resist the action of rains and frosts, which, in this 
latitude, and on a rock thus constituted, produce great ravages 
every season. The arch, which on one side now connects this 
abutment with the main cliff, will soon be destroyed, as well 
as the abutment itself, and the whole be precipitated into the 
lake." 

The following parody on a popular song was found written 
on a stone near the base of Arch Rock, about five years since : 

" Beauteous Isle ! I sing of thee, 
Mackinac, my Mackinac ; 
Thy lake-bound shores I love to see, 
Mackinac, my Mackinac, 
From Arch Rock's height and shelving steep 
To western clifi's and Lover's Leap, 
Where memories of the lost one sleep, 
Mackinac, my Mackinac. 

Thy northern shore trod British foe, 
Mackinac, my Mackinac, 
That day saw gallant Holmes laid low, 
Mackinac, my Mackinac. 
Now Freedom's flag above thee waves, 
And guards the rest of fallen braves, 
Their requiem sung by Huron's waves, 
Mackinac, my Mackinac." 

Taking the road which leads into the interior of the island, 
we soon find ourselves at the "Sugar-loaf Rock." This rock 
is about one hundred and fifty yards from the foot of the high 
ridge, upon the south-east extremity of which stands Fort 
Holmes. The plateau upon which it stands is about one hun- 
dred and fifty feet above the level of the lake, while the summit 



MACKINAC ISLAND CONCLUDED. 



139 






of the rock is two hundred and eighty-four feet above the lake, 
giving an elevation of one hundred and thirty-four feet to the 
rock itself The composition of this rock is the same as that 
of Arch Rock. Its shape is conical, and from its crevices grow 
a few vines and cedars. It «. _ =w -=. 

is cavernous and somewhat 
crystalline, with its strata 
distorted in every conceiv- 
able direction. In the north 
side is an opening, sufficient 
in its dimensions to admit 
several individuals. Here 
one might find shelter from 
the most violent storm. 
Within this opening, upon 
the smooth surfaces of the 
rock, may be found the au- 
tographs of hundreds of 
eager aspirants after immor- 
tality. As we take refuge in this rock, we are reminded of the 
Rock of Ages, and led to sing, with the poet, — 




Sugar-loaf Kock. 



" Rock of Ages, cleft for me, 
Let me hide myself in thee." 

As we approach this rock along the road, the effect is grand 
and imposing. The patriarch of the ages, it lifts its hoary head 
high up toward heaven, in utter defiance of the fury of the 
elements. The view is also very fine from the top of the ridge, 
whence, by its isolated position and bold form, it strikes the 
beholder with wonder and admiration. 

The "curious" are ever eager to know by what freak of 
nature this monstrous bowlder has been placed in its present 
position. Has it been thrust up through the crust of the earth, 
like a needle through a garment, by some internal volcanic 
action? or has it been separated from the adjacent ridge and 
disentombed from its ancient sepulcher by a system of gradual 



140 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



denudation carried on by nature through the successive ages 
of the world's history? Science tells us that the latter hypoth- 
esis is the true one. Foster and Whitney, in their geological 
report, mention the Arch and Sugar-loaf Rocks "as particular 
examples of denuding action," and state that this denuding 
action, producing such an opening (as in the Arch), with other 
attendant phenomena, could only have operated while near 
the level of a large body of water like the great lake itself. 
This coincides with the views of Professor Winchell, whom we 
have already quoted on this point. Traces of water-action now 
seen on the vertical sides of these two rocks, two hundred feet 
above the level of the water, are precisely the same as those 
seen upon the rocks close by the water's edge. To all fond 
of natural curiosities, these two rocks alone possess attractions 
sufficient to justify a visit to the Northern lakes. 

Let us now return to the fort, whence we started, and again 
set out in a different direction. Half a mile to the rear of Fort 
Mackinac, and only a few yards to the right of the road that 
leads to Early's farm, is "Skull Rock," noted as the place 
where Alexander Henry was secreted by the Chippewa chief, 
Wawatam, as related in a previous chapter, after the horrid 
massacre of the British garrison at Old Mackinac* The en- 
trance to this cave is at present low and narrow, and promises 
little to reward the labors of exploration. 

Two miles west of the village and fort is Early's (formerly 
Michael Dousman's) farm. This farm consists of a section of 
land, and produces annually large quantities of hay and vege- 
tables of the best quality. Near the house now occupied by 
Mr. Early is that relic of 1812, the old Dousman house, across 
the road from which is the battle-ground hallowed by the blood 
of the lamented Holmes and others. After the battle, such 
fragments of the slain as had been left on the field by the Indi- 
ans were gathered up and buried near the east end of the little 
mound or ridge on the opposite side of the field from the road. 

* See page 81. 



MACKINAC ISLAND CONCLUDED. I41 



Following the road leading through this farm, we soon 
arrive at the " British Landing," so named from the fact that 
Captain Roberts, with his mixed command of English, French, 
and Indians, here disembarked his forces to take the place in 
1812. It is also noted as the point where the American troops 
under Colonel Croghan effected a landing, under cover of the 
guns of the American squadron, on the eventful 4th of August, 
18 14, as already described. 

Near the north-western point of the island is Scott's or 
Flinn's Cave. To find this, we turn to the right a few rods this 
side of British Landing, and follow an unfrequented trail through 
the woods. A stranger should not attempt this journey with- 
out a guide. This cave is underneath one of the huge rocks 
peculiar to Mackinac. Its entrance is extremely low ; but when 
once inside, the giant Goliath might stand erect. Those intend- 
ing to visit this cave should provide themselves with a lamp 
or candle, as but an occasional ray of sunlight can penetrate 
its hidden chamber. While inside this rock-roofed cavern, a 
peculiar sensation takes possession of you, and you are re- 
minded of the scene described in the sixth chapter of Reve- 
lation, where the kings of the earth and the great men hide 
themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountain, and 
say to the mountains and rocks, " Fall on us, and hide us from 
the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath 
of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who 
shall be able to stand?" In the vicinity of this cave are yet 
standing a few patriarchs of the forest, remnants of the heavy 
growth of timber which, at an early day, covered the island. 

Our next tramp will be around the high bluffs which bound 
the south-western side of the island. Leaving the town at its 
western extremity, we may follow the foot-path around the brow 
of these bluffs, or continue along the beach, close to the water's 
edge. About a mile from the village, as we pursue the latter 
course, is the "Devil's Kitchen" — a cavernous rock, curious 
both in its formation and in its name. Near it is a spring f 
clear, cold water, shaded by evergreens and other trees. 



142 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



A few yards farther on is the famous " Lover's Leap." This 
rock stands out boldly from the side of the cliff, and in appear- 
ance is similar to the Sugar-loaf Rock. There are other points 
on the island to which romantic visitors have applied this name*; 
but tradition has bestowed the title only upon this. William 
M. Johnson, Esq., formerly a resident of this village, gives us 
the following legend concerning it : 

"The huge rock called the 'Lover's Leap' is situated about 
one mile west of the village of Mackinac. It is a high, perpen- 
dicular bluff, one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet in height, 
rising boldly from the shore of the lake. A solitary pine-tree 
formerly stood upon its brow, which some vandal has cut down. 
" Long before the pale faces profaned this island home of 
the genii, Me'che'ne'mock'e'nung'o'qua, a young Ojibway girl, 
just maturing into womanhood, often wandered there, and gazed 
from its dizzy heights, and witnessed the receding canoes of the 
large war-parties of the combined bands of the Ojibwas and 
Ottawas speeding south, seeking for fame and scalps. 

"It was there she often set, mused, and hummed the songs 
Ge'niw'e'gwon loved ; this spot was endeared to her, for it was 
there that she and Ge'niw'e'gwon first met and exchanged 
words of love, and found an affinity of soul existing between 
them. It was there that she often sat and sang the Ojibwa love- 
song : 

" ' Mong-e-do-gvvain, in-de-nain-dum, 

Mong-e-do-gwain, in-de-nain-dum, 

Wain-shung-ish-ween, neen-e-mo-shane, 

Wain-shung-ish-ween, neen-e-mo-shane, 

A-nee-wan-wan-san-bo-a-zode, 

A-nee-wan-wan-san-bo-a-zode.' 

" I give but one verse, which may be translated as follows : 

" ' A loon, I thouglit, was looming, 
A loon, I thought, was looming ; 
Why ! it is he, my lover ! 
Why ! it is he, my lover ! 
His paddle in the waters gleaming, 
* His paddle in the waters gleaming.' 



MACKINAC ISLAND CONCLUDED. I43 



" From this bluff she often watched and listened for the re- 
turn of the war-parties ; for amongst them she knew was Ge'- 
niw'e'gwon, his head decorated with war-eagle plumes, which none 
but a brave could sport. The west wind often wafted far in 
advance the shouts of victory and death, as they shouted and 
sang upon leaving Pe'quodVnong (Old Mackinac), to make the 
traverse to the Spirit or Fairy Island. 

" One season, when the war-party returned, she could not 
distinguish his familar and loved war-shout. Her spirit told her 
that he had gone to the spirit-land of the West. It was so ; an 
enemy's arrow had pierced his breast, and after his body was 
placed leaning against a tree, his face fronting his enemies, he 
died ; but ere he died he wished the mourning warriors to re- 
member him to the sweet maid of his heart. Thus he died, far 
away from home and the friends he loved. 

" Me'che'ne'mock'e'nung'o'qua's heart hushed its beatings, 
and all the warm emotions of that heart were chilled and dead. 
The moving, living spirit of her beloved Ge'niw'e'gwon, she wit- 
nessed continually beckoning her to follow him to the happy 
hunting-grounds of spirits in the West ; he appeared to her in 
human shape, but was invisible to others of his tribe. 

" One morning her body was found mangled at the foot of 
the bluff The soul had thrown aside its covering of earth, and 
had gone to join the spirit of her beloved Ge'niw'e'gwon, to 
travel together to the land of spirits, realizing the glories and 
bliss of a future, eternal existence." 

Some little distance farther on is " Chimney Rock," which 
Professor Winchell denominates one of the most remarkable 
masses of rock in this or any other State. 

A foot-path, which leads from the beach near the base of 
Lover's Leap to the plateau above, brings us to the old Daven- 
part farm, now owned by G. S. Hubbard, of Chicago. Report 
says that several Summer-houses are soon to be built on this 
farm, which will greatly enhance the beauty of the locality. 
Adjoining this farm is the Jones farm, once the property of the 
Presbyterian Mission on the island. 

Having now made the circuit of the island, let us once 



144 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



more ascend to Fort Holmes, take our seats upon the high sta- 
tion built some years since by the Government engineers, and 
look around us. The island lies at our feet, and we can see al- 
most every pait of it. The little clearings seen in various places 
were once gardens cultivated by American soldiers. That in 
the vicinity of Arch Keck was called the "big garden." In 
1812, when the English captured the island, the clearing on the 
high plateau back of Fort Holmes was planted with pota- 
toes, and when the Americans came back to take possession of 
the island in the Spring of 1815, the English, not having culti- 
vated it during the time, were compelled to plow it up and plant 
it, that, according to the terms of the treaty, they might leave 
every thing as they found it. 

As we gaze upon the adjacent islands and main-land, mem- 
ory is busy with the scenes of the past. Two hundred and fifty 
years ago, only bark canoes dotted the surface of the lake. A 
few years later, the songs of the Canadian voyageur, as he rowed 
or paddled his large batteau, echoed and re-echoed around the 
shores. Now the shrill whistle of the propeller is heard, and 
the white sails of hundreds of vessels are spread to the breezes. 
The first vessel ever seen on these waters was the Griffin, in 
1679 ; and the first steamer was the Walk-in-the- Water, in 1819. 
It would be difficult to estimate the amount of wealth which is 
annually carried through these straits. During the season of 
navigation, from ten to fifty sails may always be seen passing up 
and down through the straits, and almost every hour in the day 
from one to ten propellers are in full view. 

Some four or five miles to the north-west of us lies the 
mixed Canadian and Indian setdement of Point St. Ignace. 
This was the second place settled in the State of Michigan, the 
Sault being the first. At the head of East Moran Bay, some 
little distance north of the church, is the site of the mission 
established by Marquette in 167 1, some remains of which may 
yet be seen. 

Further north is the bluff called " Rabbit Sitting." North- 
easterly the St. Martin Islands, the entrance to the Chenoux, 
and the dividing ridge between this and the Sault St. Mary. On 



MACKINAC ISLAND — CONCLUDED. 



M5 



the north-east is Point Detour ; and, though thirty miles distant, 
vessels may sometimes be seen entering St. Mary's River. 
Round and Bois Blanc Islands lies to the south-east of us, be- 
yond which, at the distance of eighteen miles, is Cheboygan, 
situated at the mouth of a river of the same name. This place 
is advantageously located, and is growing rapidly. 

About seven miles south-west from this island, on the northern 
apex of the southern peninsula of Michigan, is Mackinac City. 
W. M. Johnson, Esq., thus speaks of this interesting locality : 

"Mackinaw City, with its coasts and the islands before it, has 
been the theater of some of the most exciting and interesting 
events in Indian history, previous to the arrival of the * white 
man.' It was the metropolis of a portion of the Ojibwa and 
Ottawa nations. It was there that their Congresses met, to adopt 
a policy which terminated in the conquest of the country south 
of it; it was there that the tramping feet of thousands of 
plumed and painted warriors shook Pe'quod'e'nong (the Indian 
name) while dancing their war-dances ; it was from thence that 
the startling sound of the war-yells of these thousands was 
wafted to the adjacent coasts and islands, making the peaceful 
welkin ring with their unearthly shouts of victory or death." 

With this glance at the surroundings of Mackinac, the fol- 
lowing table of altitudes will appropriately close the chapter. It 
is drawn from Professor Winchell's Geological Report for i860: 



LOCALITIES. 

Lake Huron 

Fort Mackinac . . 

Fort Holmes, 

Robinson's Folly 

Bluff facing Round Island 

Summit of Sugar-loaf, ....... . 

Chimney Rock 

Lover's Leap, 

Top of Arch at Arch Rock, 

Highest Summit of Arch Rock, .... 
Top of Buttress facing Lake at Arch Rock, . 
Principal Plateau of Mackinac Island, . . 
Upper Plateau of Mackinac Island, . . . 
Lake Superior, 

10 



Feet Above 
Lake Huron 



150 
127 
284 

140 
149 
105 
150 
294 

49 



Feet Above 
the Sea. 



578 

728 
897 
705 
725 
862 
709 

723 
718 
727 
683 
728 
872 
627 



146 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



CHAPTER X. 



MACKINAC AS A HEALTH RESORT.* 

MACKINAC, as a health resort, is unsupassed. Its cool 
air and pure water, together with its natural beauties 
and historic associations, are just what are needed to bring 
back the glow of health to the faded cheek, and send the 
warm currents of life dancing through the system with youthful 
vigor. 

In Mackinac, you eat with a new relish, and sleep as when 
a child. You row, you ramble like boys and girls, scarcely 
able to keep your buoyancy within bounds. You need to set 
a double guard about your dignity, lest it escape you entirely. 

But it is unnecessary for us to bear testimony on this sub- 
ject, when so many more competent witnesses are at hand. 

The following letter by Dr. H. R. Mills, A. A. Surgeon 
U. S. A., shows the philosophy of the health-restoring circum- 
stances which surround the invalid on this island: 

Fort Mackinac, Mich., May 2, 1870. 
Rev. Jas. A. Van Fleet: 

Dear Sir, — In complying with your request for my views 
on Mackinac as a resort for invalids, I will be as brief as pos- 
sible. I have been a resident upon the island during the period 
of nearly three years, engaged in civil and military practice, 
and therefore have had something of an opportunity for forming 
an opinion upon that subject. 

In the first place, there are two governing ideas in the 

♦The writer had the pleasure of residing on the island for two yeara^ 
during which time the first edition of this little volume was published. 



MACKINAC AS A HEALTH RESORT. I47 



selection of places of resort for those in ill-health. If possible, 
that locality should be sought which will most probably be the 
n.eans of a permanent cure. When such a result is beyond 
hope, the present comfort of the patient stands next in impor- 
tance. That place, therefore, which affords the greatest number 
of health-giving and comfort-giving elements will meet the 
wants of the largest class. No single locality can be expected 
to meet the wants of all. No land of bliss, where joys are 
unalloyed, has as yet been discovered. There are certain places 
adapted to the wants of particular cases. In the selection of 
these, accurate knowledge and sound judgment should be the 
constant guides. The hurly-burly, hap-hazard manner in which 
people post off to some celebrated locality, in search of health, 
is an illustration of the kind of reasoning almost unconsciously 
employed by many, who, upon other subjects, are considered 
sound thinkers: the old doctrine over again, "What's good 
for one thing must be good for another." Hence the crowds 
which throng the springs and the wells, all undergoing the 
same internal and external drenchings, in the endeavor to cure 
almost as many different diseases as there are people on the 
grounds. There is undoubtedly much benefit to be derived 
from the judicious use of water. No one will deny that the 
springs of the country are the sources of many blessings. Yet 
many weak, debilitated, half-dead men, women, and childre?i have 
had the last sparks of vitality drowned out of them, in the blind 
routine of water-cure ; while others, with good const it utio7is, 7vho 
only needed a thorough cleansing of the cutaneous surfaces, which 
they should have had at home, for decency's sake, have returned to 
the bosom of their families, rejoicing in the wojiderful efficacy of the 
springs. I have no word of condemnation for the springs. I 
do not deny the medicinal qualities of many of them. But the 
absurdity of the manner in which they are resorted to, without 
competent advice, and often to the actual injury of those fondly 
seeking a cure, must be obvious to all. 

Mackinac is available as a place of resort for health and 
pleasure at present only in Summer ; but the time is not far 



148 



OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



distant when it will be as noted as a resort for invalids in Winter 
as it is now in Summer. 

Its position, geographically and hydrographically, is such as 
to render the temperature at all seasons of the year moderate 
and uniform. This is the first and most important in the list of 
health-restoring and health-preserving influences to be enumer- 
ated in connection with this place. This is the central fact, 
around which all the others arrange themselves. It is in the 
mildness and uniformity of its temperature that the superiority of 
Mackinac as a place of resort consists. It is this that causes 
thousands to come here annually to spend the '* heated term." 
This is well shown by an examination of the following table : 

DEGREES OF MEAN, MONTHLY, AND EXTREME TEMPERAIURE, FOR A SERIES 

OF YEARS.* 



Mackinac Island, Mich 

Montreal 

Albany, N. Y 

Omaha. Neb 

Chicago 

Detroit 

Philadelphia, Penn 

Cincinnati, O 

St. Paul, Minn 

St. Louis, Mo 



iS 
16 
25 
25 
25 
27 
35 

34,44 
813. 
3544 



37 48,57 
40 53 66 
47 60 68 
52 62 
465b 
46 56 
5> 59 
58 6. 
46] 59 
5866 



65 64 

70 66 

72 70 
76 75 

71 69 
70 68 
75 73 
74,73 

73 76 
79 77 



v^lo 



3\B 



55 45 34 
59|45 32 
61I49 39 
66 1 52 36 
60.49 38 
60I48128 
64 1 54 44 



55,4' 

47 32 
55 4« 



By this table it will be seen that the extremes of heat and 
cold are not only not as great in Mackinac as in other places 
east and west on the same parallel, but even in places much 
farther south. At Montreal, during the time embraced in the 
table, the mercury has been as low as 36 degrees below zero, and 
as high as 102 above. At St. Paul, on nearly the same parallel, 
the greatest degree of cold designated is 37 degrees below zero, 
and of heat, 100 above. At St. Louis, hundreds of miles farther 



♦ " Climatology of United States," by Lorin Blodget. 1857. 



MACKINAC AS A HEALTH RESORT. 1 49 



south, the table shows that the mercury has been as low as 25 
degrees below zero, and as high as 108 above. By looking at 
the figures opposite Mackinac, it will be seen that 23 degrees 
below zero is the lowest, and 90 above the highest mark of the 
mercury. During my residence here, however, the mercury has 
but once been as low as 19 degrees below zero. This was 
during the Winter of 1867 and 1868. During the Winter of 1868 
and 1869, 16 degrees below zero was the coldest. During the 
past Winter, 13 degrees below occurred but once. 

Why this difference in favor of Mackinac ? In my opinion, 
it is owing principally to the influence of the large bodies of 
water which surround it ; Lake Superior on the north-west, 
Huron on the east and south, and Michigan on the south and 
west. By a well-known law in physics, heat is absorbed or 
rendered latent in the passage of any substance from the solid 
to the fluid and from the fluid to the gaseous states ; and con- 
versely, heat is given out or rendered sensible in the passage of 
any substance from the gaseous to the fluid, and from the fluid 
to the solid states. To illustrate : Take a single pound of ice. 
The thermometer shows its temperature to be 32 degrees Fah- 
renheit. Now, if just enough heat be applied to this pound of 
ice to change it from the solid to the fluid state, and the temper- 
ature of the water thus produced is immediately tested, it will be 
found to be only 32 degrees F., the same as found in testing the 
temperature of the ice before the application of heat. Here has 
been an expenditure of heat in the process of liquefaction. By 
accurate measurement it has been found that 140 degrees of 
heat are necessary for this change from ice to water. If, again, 
heat is applied to this water, the temperature will continue to 
rise until it reaches 212 degrees, the ordinary boiling point of 
water. But all attempts to heat this water above that point will 
be in vain. Why.-* Because heat is necessary for the transfor- 
mation of water into steam, and every degree of heat which is 
now added will be consumed, or rendered latent in this process. 
The reverse process is naturally attended by the opposite result. 
Hence the philosophy of the warming of buildings by steam. 



150 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



Wherever the steam comes in contact with objects sufficiently 
cold to reduce it to a, lower degree than 212, it immediately 
becomes condensed into water, giving out its surplus heat. The 
same is true in the transformation of water into ice. 

In Summer, the evaporating surface of these lakes is very 
extensive, and the influence on the climate at Mackinac, and 
places thus centrally located, is, as a consequence, very g'"eat. 
The amount of water which escapes into the air as vapor, in a 
single Summer day, from the surface of these lakes, would 
astonish one who has not accurate information upon this 
subject. 

Of a necessity, the amount of heat drawn from the surround- 
ing atmosphere will correspond. In Winter, in accordance with 
this law, the changing of vapors into water, and water into ice, 
operates in the opposite direction, and heat is given out or 
rendered sensible. Thus these immense bodies of water 
become the regulators of the climate, both in Summer and 
Winter. Not only are great extremes of heat and cold thus 
prevented, but also the sudden daily changes which occur in 
many other places, to the great discomfort and injury of all, and 
especially the invalid. 

Growing out of its position and resulting temperature is 
another important item in the consideration of Mackinac as a 
health resort ; that is, the purity and huoyaiicy of the atmosphere. 
The amount of heat is insufficient for the extensive production of 
miasmatic, disease-generating exhalations, which are so destruc- 
tive in warmer climates. Even if this were not the case, the 
absence of swamps and marshes and disgusting cesspools suffi- 
ciently insures atmospheric purity. The amount of oxygen in a 
given measure of air, as compared with that in warmer climates, 
accounts, in part at least, for its buoyant, exhilarating effects. 
Thus, in consequence of the mild, uniform temperature, the 
atmosphere in Summer is cool and agreeable, free from float- 
ing poisons, and well stocked with life and health-giving 
principles. 

The water, though containing considerable lime, is free from 



MACKINAC AS A HEALTH RESORT. 15I 



noxious impurities. The pebbles on the bottom of the lake can 
be seen when the lake is still, on a fair day, at the depth of 
many feet. Its average temperature is about 42 degrees. In 
favorable localities, however, where it is shallow, and the rays of 
the sun are direct upon it, the temperature is raised sufficient! \ 
for pleasant bathing. In a medical point of view, these lake- 
furnish a very important article of food — trout and white fish. 
Nothing is better calculated to meet the wants of overtaxed 
brains and nerves. 

As a Summer resort it is probably unsurpassed. It is easily 
accessible by short and pleasant water-routes, and the influences 
which cluster around the lovely spot are adapted equally well 
to the treatment of the infirmities of the mind and body. A 
cheerful, hopeful state of mind is of the greatest importance in 
the treatment of disease. This once established, the physician 
can begin to feel that his efforts may be of some avail ; but 
otherwise, remedies and advice alike are useless. 

The view of the island at a distance, if approached on a 
pleasant day, either from Lake Huron or Lake Michigan, is 
highly pleasing, especially to those from the crowded city or the 
interior of the country. The valetudinarian is inclined to forget 
his maladies in his admiration of the beauty of the picture 
before him. And the first impressions are not only confirmed 
by a sojourn upon the island, but new pleasures, and new 
sources of amusement and recreation, are constantly springing 
up to engage the attention. The views which can easily be 
obtained from various points, and of which one never tires, are 
unsurpassed in beauty and loveliness. No pen can adequately 
describe them. Again, the shady walks and beautiful drives 
which radiate from the village to various points of natural and 
historical interest, are the sources of much enjoyment. 

When rock and cave and battle-field, and other objects of 
interest, have received their share of time and attention, and a 
change is desired, the Mackinac boats — famous for the fact that 
never was serious accident known to occur to one of them, when 
handled by Mackinac men — lie waiting near the beach ready for 



152 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



an excursion upon the lake. Round Island, Bois Blanc, Mack- 
inac City (Old Mackinac), Point St. Ignace, and many other 
places of interest, are within a few hours' sail. Overcoat and 
gloves for gentlemen, and shawls for ladies, should be the in- 
variable companions, no matter how warm and pleasant the day ; 
for winds are fickle, and the hour of return uncertain. A basket 
of edibles will sometimes meet an unexpected demand. Gun 
and fishing-tackle will add to the interest of the occasion, 
especially if the trip extends into the duck and brook-trout 
regions. 

If exercise of the muscle as well as diversion of mind is 
desired, and this is a healthy combination, a supply of skiffs 
is ever at hand. By these a trip to the surrounding islands, or 
the noted places along the beach around Mackinac, can be safely 
made in a few hours. But those who wish to make more ex- 
tended or more rapid voyages can avail themselves of the small 
steamers which belong in this locality. Some have complained 
of the mosquitoes and black flies in their sallies to the main- 
land, but it is said that the odor of carbolic acid removes this 
annoyance. From my experience in the use of the article in 
hospital practice, I am inclined to think this will accomplish 
the purpose. 

These are some of the favorable circumstances which sur- 
round the invalid at Mackinac. It will be seen at once that 
they take a wide range in their therapeutic application. I have 
great confidence in medicines, timely and judiciously adminis- 
tered. But in very many, especially chronic cases, I have still 
greater confidence in the efficacy of these hygienic agencies. It 
would be far from rational, however, to discard either. The 
combination of the two, in accordance with the necessities of 
each case, will be followed by the happiest results. Science 
and practice alone are competent to decide the proportion of 
each required. 

One will now almost instinctively come to something of a 
conclusion as to the class of cases to which this place is best 
adapted. In fact, the hygienic influences are so varied in char- 



MACKINAC AS A HEALTH RESORT. 1 53 



acter, so extensive in range, that there is very little liability to 
mistake. During my residence here, very few invalids have 
come under my notice who have not received more or less 
benefit before their departure. Instead, therefore, of attempting 
to enumerate the diseases or conditions to the treatment of 
whichtthis place is favorable, it will take much less time to des 
ignate those to which a sojourn here is thought to be unfavorable. 

It is perhaps unnecessary to say that in all acute cases of 
inflammation, the patient should remain at home until the 
crisis is passed. When the stage of debility comes on, how- 
ever, Mackinac may prove highly beneficial in promoting a 
rapid recovery. 

I would advise no one who is thought to be rapidly ap- 
proaching dissolution, to think of coming here as a last resort. 
The unavoidable fatigue and exposure incident to the journey 
will greatly overbalance all the good results to be hoped for. 
Home, quiet, peaceful home, is the place for such. 

Those in the last stages of consumption are not usually 
benefited. Invalids of this class seem to think the air " too 
strong " for their " weak lungs," to use their own terms. The 
somewhat increased moisture of the atmosphere, over that of 
places inland, is also supposed to act unfavorably. 

Those suffering from asthma are in some instances rendered 
more comfortable, and in others less. It is impossible to say 
what the effect will be until the trial is made. 

Rheumatism is not usually a severe disease here ; but it is 
perhaps more frequent than any other. 

Intermittent, remittent, and typhoid fever are very seldom, 
if ever, known to originate here ; but occasionally those coming 
from miasmatic districts, upon their arrival show symptoms of 
these disorders, in a mild form. They come charged with a 
poison, and the change is the occasion of its working off". This 
is usually soon over with, however, and no more fever and ague 
is heard of until a new stock of the malarial poison is obtained 
outside. This was quite forcibly illustrated in the cases of 
several soldiers now stationed at this post. This company 



154 OL^ ^^^ N^^ MACKINAC. 



arrived here from New Orleans in May, 1869. During the 
three months following, there were several cases of intermittent 
fever. But, in every instance, these cases were easily controlled 
in two or three days, and relapses were very unusual. 

I have not seen a well-marked case of typhoid fever on 
the island. 

In most chronic diseases, this locality usually proves highly 
beneficial. The supporting of the vital powers is one great 
object to be aimed at in the treatment of all cases — especially 
chronic. I am not one of those, however, who, in their blind 
adoration of " Supporting Treaimefit,'^ forget the specific disease, 
the cause perhaps of the whole difficulty, and neglect its treat- 
ment when it is possible to reach it. The two must go hand in 
hand. There are general remedies which apply to almost all 
cases ; at the same time each case requires additional specific 
treatment, according to character of the specific disease, age, sex, 
temperament, and a thousand other circumstances which go 
to make up the case. As the science of the practice of medi- 
cine advances, the great and, until recently, quite unrecognized 
truth, stands forth in more glowing light, that cases are to be 
treated and not diseases alone. The disease is only a part, often 
a small part, of what goes to make up the case. Medication, 
therefore, though it properly holds a secondary therapeutic re- 
lation as compared with general hygienic measures, is none the 
less important. Both are essential. 

In recommending this place to invalids, I would refer espe- 
cially to that large class of cases which comes under the head of 
general debility. It is unnecessary to go into extensive speci- 
fications. They are at once recognized in men, women, and 
children, by a weakly, sickly appearance, low vital powers, feeble 
pulse, coated tongue, pale or sallow skin, want of appetite, 
the functions of the various organs of the body inadequately 
performed, and various other unhealthy conditions. No better 
place can be found for sickly chlorotic girls and puny boys ; 
worn-out men and women, whether suffering from overworked 
brain or muscle. No better place can be found for those inclined 



MACKINAC AS A HEALTH RESORT. 1 55 



to hypochondriacy. A change from the tiresome sameness of 
home scenes can not fail to do good. 

Those cases of consumption which are not far advanced are 
often greatly benefited. 

Bowel-complaints seldom prevail. Hence, this is a good 
place for infants and children during the hot Summer months. 

It is not necessary to continue the enumeration. I have 
attempted thus hastily to put forth some general ideas which 
might serve as guides to those of your readers who may have 
occasion to avail themselves of a resort for health or pleasure. 

I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient 

servant, 

H. R. Mills, M. D., Post Surgeon. 



The following extracts are from the pen of Daniel Drake, 
M. D., who, in a professional capacity, visited the island in 
1842. In his " Discourses on Northern Lakes and Southern 
Invalids," we find the following : 

"When the southwest winds, which have traversed the vast 
plains separating the Gulf of Mexico from the Lakes, reach the 
shores of the latter, they are necessarily dry and hot. Hence, 
the temperature of Buff'alo, Erie, Cleveland, Sandusky, Toledo, 
Detroit, and Chicago, in the average latitude of 42, is quite as 
great as their position should experience — greater, perhaps, than 
the traveler from Louisiana or Carolina would expect. But the 
duration of these winds is at no time very long, and whenever 
they change to any point of the compass north or west, they 
bring down a fresh and cool atmosphere to revive the consti- 
tutions of all whom they had wilted down. These breathings 
from the north descend from the highlands around Lake Su- 
perior, which are nearly as elevated above the sea as the 
mountains of Pennsylvania, and stretch off beyond the sources of 
the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains. In passing over that 
lake, with Michigan and Huron immediately south of it, the 
temperature of which, in Summer, as we have already seen, is 



156 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



less than 60 degrees, these winds sufTer little increase of heat, 
and become so charged with moisture from the extended watery 
surface as to exert on the feelings of the people along the south- 
ern shores of Erie and Michigan a most refreshing influence. 

" From the hour that the voyager enters Lake Huron, at the 
head of St. Clair River, or Michigan, at Chicago, he ceases, 
however, to feel the need of such breezes from the north-west ; for 
the latitude which he has then attained, in connection with the 
great extent of the deep waters, secures to him an invigorating 
atmosphere, even while Sunmier rages with a withering energy in 
the South. The axis of each of these lakes is nearly in the 
meridian, and every turn made by the wheels of his boat carries 
him farther into the temperate and genial climate of the upper 
lakes. Entering it by either of the portals just mentioned, he 
soon passes the latitude of 44 degrees, and has then escaped 
from the region of miasmas, mosquitoes, congestive fevers, calomel, 
intermittents, ague-cakes, liver-diseases, Jaundice, chQlera-morbus, 
dyspepsia, blue devils, and duns ! — on the whole of which he 
looks back with gay indifference, if not a feeling of good- 
natured CONTEMPT. 

" Every-where on the shores of the Lakes, from Ontario to 
Superior, if the general atmosphere be calm and clear, there is, 
in Summer, a refreshing lake and land breeze: the former com- 
mencing in the forenoon, and, with a capricious temper, continu- 
ing most of the day ; the latter setting in at night, after the 
radiation from the ground has reduced its heat below that of 
the water. These breezes are highly acceptable to the voyager 
while in the lower lake region, and by no means to be despised 
after he reaches the upper. 

" But the Summer climate of the Lakes is not the only source 
of benefit to invalids, for the agitation imparted by the boat 
on voyages of several days' duration, through waters which 
are never stagnant and sometimes rolling, will be found among 
the most efficient means of restoring health in many chronic 
diseases, especially those of a nervous character, such as 
hysteria and hypochondriacism. 



MACKINAC AS A HEALTH RESORT. 1 57 



"Another source of benefit is the excitement imparted by 
the voyage, to the faculty of observation. At a watering-place 
all the features of the surrounding scenery are soon familiarized 
to the eye, which then merely wanders over the commingled 
throngs of valetudinarians, doctors, dancers, idlers, gamblers, 
coquettes, and dandies, whence it soon returns to inspect the 
nfirmities or tedium vitcB of its possessor; but on protracted 
voyages through new and fresh regions, curiosity is stirred up to 
the highest pitch, and pleasantly gratified by the hourly unfolding 
of fresh aspects of nature — some new blending of land and 
lake ; a group of islands different from the last ; aquatic fields 
of wild-rice and lilies; a rainbow walking on the 'face of the 
deep ;' a water-spout, or a shifting series of painted clouds seen 
in the kaleidoscope of heaven. 

" But the North has attractions of a different kind, which 
should draw into its Summer bosom those who seek health and 
recreation in travel. From Ontario to Michigan, the voyager 
passes in the midst of spots consecrated to the heart of every 
American, and deeply interesting to all who delight to study the 
history of their native land. The shores and waters of the 
Lakes, so often reddened with the blood of those who fought and 
died in the cause of their country, will present to the traveler of 
warm and patriotic feelings, scenes which he can not behold 
without emotion, under which real diseases may abate, and the 
imaginary be forgotten." 

After briefly alluding to the mixed French and Indian pop- 
ulation around the head of the Lakes, he thus continues : 

" But a different inhabitant, of more interest than either to 
the dyspeptic and the gourmand, is the celebrated white-fish, 
which deserves to be called by its classical name, Coregonus 
alius, which, liberally translated, signifies food of the nymphs. 
Its flesh, which is in the cold and clear waters of the lake organ- 
ized and imbued with life, is liable but to this objection, — that he 
who tastes it once will thenceforth be unable to relish that of 
any other fish. 

" The island of Mackinac is the last, and, of the whole, the 



158 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



most important Summer residence to which we can direct the at 
tention of the infirm and the fashionable. True it has no min- 
eral springs, but living streams of pure water, cooled down to the 
temperature of 44 degrees, gushing from its lime-rock precipices, 
and an atmosphere never sultry or malarious, supersedes all 
necessity for nauseating solutions of iron, sulphur, and epsont 
salts. An ague, contracted below, has been known to cease 
even before the patient had set his foot on the island, as a bad 
cold evaporates under the warm sun in a voyage to Cuba. Its 
rocky, though not infertile, surface, presents but few decom- 
posable matters, and its Summer heats are never great enough 
to convert those few into miasms. 

" Situated in the western extremity of Huron, within view 
of the straits which connect that lake with Michigan, and almost 
in sight, if forest did not interpose, of the portals of Lake Su- 
perior, this celebrated island has long been, as it must continue 
to be, the capital of the upper lakes. The steamboats which 
visit the rapids of the St. Mary and Green Bay, not less than 
the daily line from Buffalo to Milwaukee and Chicago, are found 
in its harbor; and the time can not be remote when a small 
packet will ply regularly between it and the first. By these 
boats, the luxuries of the South, brought fresh and succulent as 
when first gathered, are supplied every day. But the potatoes 
of this island, rivaling those of the banks of the Shannon, and 
the white-fish and trout of the surrounding waters, yielding only 
to those of Lake Superior, render all foreign delicacies super- 
fluous. We must caution the gourmand, however, against the 
excessive use of trout {Salmo anieihystes), which are said to 
produce drowsiness ; for he who visits Mackinac should sleep but 
little, lest some scene of interest should pass away unobserved." 

The same author, in his " Diseases of the Mississippi Valley," 
thus alludes to Mackinac : 

" The three great reservoirs of clear and cold water — Lakes 
Huron, Michigan, and Superior, with the island of Mackinac in 
their hydrographical center — offer a delightful hot weather asy- 
lum *^ all invalids who need an escape from crowded cities, 



MACKINAC AS A HEALTH RESORT. 1 59 



paludal exhalations, sultry climates, and officious medication. 
Lake Erie lies too far south, and is bordered with too many 
swamps, to be included in the salutiferous group. The voyage 
from Buffalo, Cleveland, or Sandusky, on that lake, or from 
Chicago or Milwaukee, on Lake Michigan, may afford, should 
the water be agitated, all the benefits of sea-sickness, without 
its tedious prolongation. On reaching Mackinac an agreeable 
change of climate is at once experienced, and the bodily feeling 
is heightened by the emotions which the evidence and con- 
sciousness of having retreated upon an island raise in the mind 
of one who has not before enjoyed the novelty of an insular 
life. To his jaded sensibilities all around him is fresh and re- 
freshing; a feeling of security comes over him, and when, from 
the rocky battlements of Fort Mackinac, he looks down upon 
the surrounding waters, they seem a moat of defense against the 
host of annoyances from which he had sought a refuge. Thus 
the curative state of mind begins to act on his body from the 
moment of his landing, and, if he be a person of intelligence 
and taste, this salutary mental excitement* will not soon die 
away ; for the historic associations, not less than the scenery of 
this island, are well fitted to maintain it. 

" From the summit of the island the eyes rests upon a num- 
ber of spots consecrated to military history. But the natural 
scenery is still better fitted to make the invalid forget his ailments. 
Several agreeable and exciting boat-voyages may be made to the 
neighboring coasts, from each of which a new aspect may be 
had, and the island itself, although but nine miles in circuit, 
affords opportunities for a great variety of rambling on foot. In 
these excursions he may ascend to the apex of the island, once 
the site of a fort. From this summit, elevated far above all that 
surrounds it, the panorama is such as would justify the epithet 
to Mackinac — Queen of the Isles. To the west are the in- 
dented shores of the upper peninsula of Michigan ; to the south, 
those of the lower, presenting in the interior a distant and smoky 
line of elevated table-land ; up the straits, green islets may be 
seen peeping above the waters ; directly in front of the harbor, 



l60 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



Round Island forms a beautiful foreground, while the larger, 
Bois Blanc, with its light-house, stretches off to the east ; and 
to the north are other islands at varying distances, which 
complete the archipelago. 

" When the observer directs his eyes upon the waters more 
than the land, and the day is fair, with moderate wind, he finds 
the surface as variable in its tints as if clothed in a robe of 
changeable silk. Green and blue are the governing hues, but 
they flow into each other with such facility and frequency, thkt 
while still contemplating a particular spot, it seems, as if by 
magic, transformed into another. But these midday beauties 
vanish before those of the setting sun, when the boundless hori- 
zon of lake and land seems girt around with a fiery zone of 
clouds, and the brilliant drapery of the skies paints itself upon 
the surface of the waters. Brief as they are beautiful, these 
evening glories, like spirits of the air, quickly pass away, and 
the gay mantle of night warns the beholder to depart for the 
village while he may yet make his way along a narrow and rocky 
path, beset with tiffts of prickly juniper. Having refreshed 
himself for an hour, he may stroll out upon the beach and listen 
to the serenade of the waters. Wave after wave will break at 
his feet over the white pebbles, and return as limpid as it came. 
Up the straits, he will see the evening star dancing on the ruffled 
surface, and the loose sails of the lagging schooner flapping in 
the fitful land-breeze, while the milky way — Death's Path of 
the red man — will dimly appear in the waters before him !" 

The following extracts are just to the point, and will meet 
with a hearty response from the thousands who have experienced 
similar sensations in visiting Mackinac : 

" Mackinaw, Mich., August 7, 1856. 
. . . " Yours of July 20th has been forwarded to me at 
this place, whither I have come in search of the fugitive, 
health — at least, to escape from the debilitations of our Summer 
heats. I wish you were here ! It is a fortnight to-day since we 
arrived, and such paradisiacal weather as we have had ! just 



MACKINAC AS A HEALTH RESORT, l6l 



warm enough not to be cold, and just cold enough not to be 
warm. Only one thing is wanting to me, and I should thrive 
like a green bay tree ; and that is the home diet. 

" Last night we had some commotion among the elements, 
and to-day it is cloudy, and a fire is comfortable. But a few 
whiffs of this air would make your lungs give a hygienic laugh. 
I am sorry to hear there are any symptoms in your throat or 
elsewhere which give you present discomfort or forebodings. I 
am afraid of that Eastern climate for your lungs. I do not 
believe that air will ever agree with you. It requires a Boreas 
to blow it, and none but a Boreas can breathe it. . . . 

"Horace Mann." 

" Mackinaw, Mich., August 6, 1857. 
. . . " Here we all are at Mackinaw, and enjoying our- 
selves too well not to tell you about it, and to wish you were 
here with us. The climate, the air, etc., perform the promise 
made last year ; and, as all the family are with me, I enjoy vastly 
more than I did last year. I never breathed such air before ; 
and this must be some that was clear out of Eden, and did not 
get cursed. I sleep every night under sheet, blanket, and cov- 
erlet, and no day is too warm for smart walking and vigorous 
bowling. The children are crazy with animal spirits, and eat in 
such a way as to demonstrate the epigastric paradox that the 
quantity contained may be greater than the container. I verily 
believe if you would spend one Summer here — say from about 
the middle of July to the middle of September — it would make 
your brain as good as Samuel Downer's brain ever was since 
it occupied its present cranium ; and that is saying a great 

deal. . . . Horace Mann." 

II 



l62 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



CHAPTER XI. 



MACKINAC CITY. 

THE Straits of Mackinac, as we have seen, have been the 
theater of interesting and exciting events from the ear- 
liest times down to the present. While the whole southern por- 
tion of the State was yet a wilderness which no white man had 
ever penetrated, Mackinac was the home of the missionary, 
the trader, and the soldier, and the center of a valuable and 
fast increasing traffic with the Indians of the North-west. 

And it was from Mackinac, as a center, that colonization 
spread through the surrounding country. Detroit was settled 
in 1 701, by Cadillac, who for several years had commanded at 
Mackinac. The history of Wisconsin and Minnesota, as well 
as other North-western States, must begin with a notice of this 
point, because the earliest settlers of these States started out 
from Mackinac, and the period is yet within the memory of 
many now living on this island when Chicago came to Mackinac 
for supplies. 

These are significant facts. The early Jesuits and traders 
fixed upon Mackinac as a basis of their missionary and com- 
mercial operations, not by mere chance, but because of its 
natural advantages. Mackinac is a historical center because 
it is a geographical and commercial center. Nature alone has 
given it its advantages, and made it what it has been in history. 
For a series of years, however, its natural advantages seemed 
to be overlooked, and the surging wave of population rolled 
across Southern Michigan, and so on to the westward. Yet 
it has never been quite forgotten, and at the present time 
we believe it to be gradually rising into favor, owing to the 



MACKINAC CITY. 163 



fact that it is better known and better appreciated than ever 
before. 

But we do not propose to enter into any elaborate discus- 
sion of its merits. We wish simply to set forth a few facts 
relative to an enterprise just now attracting some attention. 
Ferris, in his " States and Territories of the Great West,' 
makes the following mention of the straits: "If one were to 
point out on the map of North America a site for a great cen- 
tral city in the lake region, it would be in the immediate vicin- 
ity OF THE Straits of Michilimackinac. A city so located 
would have the command of the mineral tradcj the fisheries, the 
furs, and the lumber of the entire North. It might become 
the metropolis of a great commercial empire. It would be the 

Venice of the Lakes." In 1853, Mr. Edgar Conkling, then of 
Cincinnati, with something of the same appreciation of this 
point, secured a large tract of land on the south side of the 
straits. In 1857-58, he surveyed the city site; but the financial 
revulsion at that time, and the war which soon followed, pre- 
vented further operations until the present. During the past 
Winter a good dock has been constructed, and preparations 
are fast being made to build up the new city. The streets, as 
surveyed, are eighty feet in width, and the avenues one hun- 
dred and one hundred and fifty feet, respectively, and are to 
be forever unobstructed by improvements of any kind, shade- 
trees alone excepted. The lots, with the exception of those 
in fractional blocks, are fifty by one hundred and fifty feet. 
Old Mackinac Point, where may still be seen the ruins of the 
old " Fort Michilimackinac," has been reserved for a park. 
It is now in a state of nature, but in this instance nature has 
done more, unassisted by art, than is often accomplished by 
both combined. A richer and more beautiful variety of ever- 
greens can nowhere be found than here, and "when the skillful 
hand of the horticulturist has marked its outlines and threaded 
it with avenues and foot-paths, pruned its trees and carpeted 

ts surface with green, it will present the very perfection of all 
that constitutes a park delightful." Suitable blocks and lots 



164 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



for county and city buildings, school-houses, churches, and 
institutions of learning and charity, will be donated for their 
respective purposes whenever the proper authorities are pre- 
pared to select suitable sites. There are three good harbors 
on the east, north, and west sides of the city, respectively. 
The soil is sandy, and the land sufficiently elevated above the 
level of the water to warrant an entire absence of mud forever. 
"There are no marshes, no tide-covered sands, no flood-washed 
banks, no narrow and isolated rocks or ridges, to intercept the 
progress of commercial growth and activity. On the contrary, 
the lake rises under the heaviest rains but little, and breaks 
its waves on a dry shore raised far above its level."' 

At a comparatively recent date, large additions have been 
made to this property; so that now the real estate interests of 
the enterprise cover an area of about thirty-five thousand acres, 
seven thousand of which lie on the north side, upon the upper 
peninsula. Much of this land abounds in the elements of 
wealth and prosperity. There may be found peat and hard- 
wood suitable for smelting and manufacturing iron and copper, 
gypsum in abundance, "stone for water-lime, building-stone, 
and building-lime," while all geologists agree that the salt 
formation underneath its surface will richly reward all who 
turn their attention to the manufacture of that indispensable 
article. 

The policy of the proprietor of this enterprise is at once 
liberal and enlightened. Every legal measure will be taken to 
exclude forever the sale of alcohol as a beverage, thus insuring 
the future inhabitants freedom from midnight brawls and 
drunken revels. The public wants are to be liberally provided 
for, and the whole property finally devoted to the building up 
and endowment of a ^^ grand, national, • unsedarian. Christian 
UNIVERSITY," arrd will be placed in the hands of responsible 
trustees whenever the public is ready to make the enterprise its 
own. Such are the facts as they have been communicated to us. 

The idea of a university at the straits may strike some as 
premature and uncalled for : but two considerations are alone 



MACKINAC CITY. 1 65 



more than sufficient to justify an immediate advance in that 
direction. First, the health of this region is such as to insure 
the highest success of such an institution. The isothermal 
line of Mackinac is that* which has proved the most favorable, 
both in Europe and America, for intellectual development. 

This all-important and only truly fundamental idea of 
health is too often forgotten in the location of institutions of 
learning ; and, as a consequence, the mind is frequently devel- 
oped only at the expense of the body. Men become intel- 
lectual giants and physical pigmies at one and the same time. 
But the invigorating atmosphere of Mackinac City will do for 
the physical part just what a thorough university course will 
do for the mental, and thus a symmetrical and perfect devel- 
opment will be secured. The facts elucidated in the previous 
chapter will prove this. 

The health of Mackinac is not disputed. A second fact we 
regard as equally indisputable : a few years will people North- 
ern Michigan and the unoccupied territory of the North-west 
with tens of thousands, who will need just such an institution 
as the one proposed. And, besides this " coming population," 
hundreds of the sons and daughters of our more Southern and 
much less healthful cities and towns will be but too glad to re- 
sort to the even-tempered Mackinac to secure an education, 
whenever the proper facilities for that purpose are afforded. 

That the public attention is already turning this way is too 
evident to need proof The " Northern Pacific" is no longer a 
mooted question, but is actually in process of construction, 
with a fair prospect of making the straits its eastern terminus ; 
while several roads from the more southern cities of this and 
other States are even now hastening toward Mackinac to claim 
a share of the spoils. The day is not far in the future when 
Mackinac will be a railroad center, as it is by nature a commer- 
cial center, and these roads will all lay their laurels at the feet 
of the new city and rising university. 

As to the prospects of Mackinac City and the wealth of the 
surrounding country, which must eventually concentrate here, 



1 66 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



the following extracts are in point. They are from E. D. 
Mansfield's Review of " Old Mackinaw," by Strickland, as pub- 
lished in the Methodist Quarterly Review for June, 1861 : 

"Whoever looks upon the map of- North America will be 
struck with the singular conformation of both land and water 
round the Straits of Mackinaw. There is scarcely any thing in 
American geography more remarkable. The vast expanse of 
American lakes, flowing through more than two thousand miles, 
and covering more than one hundred thousand square miles of 
water surface, seems here to concentrate, and the three great 
lakes, Superior, Huron, and Michigan (to speak metaphorically) 
lay their heads together, as if to consider some notable point. 
Far to the north-west of the straits stretches Lake Superior, 
with its clear waters and its pictured rocks. Far to the south 
lies Lake Michigan, with its long arm at Green Bay ; while to 
the south-east stretch the dark waters of Huron, with its 
Manitou Islands and Georgian Sea. But vast as are these in- 
land seas, they here meet together. Superior forms its waters 
through the Sault of St. Mary ; Michigan rolls through the 
Straits of Mackinaw ; and the magnificent Huron comes up to 
meet them. That a point so remarkable by nature should be- 
come equally so in the growth of a young and rising empire, seems 
to be a necessary inference from these facts. There are but few 
points on the earth which present such striking advantages for 
the pursuits of commerce. If we look upon the map of the 
globe, we shall find, perhaps, only four or five which have 
similar features. The Straits of Gibraltar, separating Europe 
from Africa ; Constantinople, on the Bosphorus ; Singapore, 
on the Straits of Malacca ; and the Isthmus of Panama, are the 
only ones which now strike us as presenting a parallel. Singa- 
pore has rapidly concentrated Asiatic navigation, and more 
various people may be found there than at any ocean point. 
Panama is rising to commercial importance with equal rapidity, 
while Gibraltar and Constantinople are world-renowned for the 
value of their positions. Mackinaw presents nearly the same 
features. Not only do great inland seas here meet together, but 



MACKINAC CITY, 1 6/ 



on every side of these waters press down great districts of land, 
rich, various, and abundant in tlieir resources. On the north 
lies the peninsula of Canada, which, although long regarded as 
barren and inhospitable, has been recently proved a country of 
good soil, abundant water, and mild climate. To the south is 
the peninsula of Michigan, now fast filling up with a thrifty 
American population. To the west is the great mining region, 
where copper and iron seem inexhaustible. Thus nature seems 
to have made this place as rich in the materials as in the chan- 
nels of commerce. Nor has she placed any barriers in the way 
of its future growth. Constantinople has its plague, and Panama 
its fevers ; but Mackinaw, grand in its scenery, and opulent in 
its resources, is equally salubrious in its climate, and inviting to 
the seekers for health, pleasure, and repose. . . . 

" Looking, now, to the commercial and industrial development 
of that region, we find still more extraordinary results. At- 
tached to the State of Michigan is the penninsula, which is in- 
closed between the Straits of Mackinaw, Lake Michigan, and 
Lake Superior. For two centuries after the settlement of New 
England and New York, the wild, unfrequented, unknown shores 
of Lake Superior were unsuspected of any other capacity for 
production than those of the forest and the lake. It is only 
since 1S46 that its immense beds of iron and copper were dis- 
covered, and only within the last ten years that that region has 
exhibited a wealth of mineral production which the world can 
scarcely parallel on an equal space. No sooner were the facts 
known than copper companies (and since iron companies) began 
to be formed with the celerity and energy of an excited specu- 
lation. Capital was found in the great cities ready to be in- 
vested in such enterprises, laborers flocked thither, mines were 
opened ; and now we have immense bodies of copper annually 
transported to Boston, Pittsburg, Cleveland, and other places, 
to be smelted. In 1858, the copper ore exported from points in 
the peninsula was six thousand tons, which yielded four thousand 
tons of pure copper, worth two millions of dollars. When we 
consider that this is one-third the amount of copper produced by 



1 68 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



Great Britain, and one-seventh of the whole amount produced 
out of America, we can understand the value of these mines, 
which have scarcely been opened ten years. 

" In the same region, and above the Sault of St. Mary, are 
iron mines equally extraordinary. The United States has in 
various sections immense deposits of iron. But in all the basins 
of the lakes, there is nothing comparable to this. In the vicinity 
of Marquette, a flourishing port of Lake Superior, iron hills rise 
from six to seven hundred feet in height, which are a solid mass of 
iron ore. When smelted in the furnace, they yield more than 
half in pure iron of a superior quality, which is in demand at all 
the manufacturing towns of the East. 

" In the meanwhile the resources of the country which were 
obvious to the eye were naturally sought and developed by a 
different class of persons. The fisheries yielded the finest fish 
in exhaustless quantities ; and from Sandusky Bay, in Ohio, to 
Superior City, in the wild North-west, the lake salmon and the 
Mackinaw trout are transported, like the oysters of the Atlantic, 
to gratify the epicurean palate, in town and city. These 
fisheries have now risen to great importance. They are sup- 
posed to exceed in product the whole of the other fresh-water 
fisheries in the United States. At this time, about one hundred 
thousand barrels of fish are freighted, and the annual value of 
the fisheries amounts to a million of dollars. 

" No sooner had civilization penetrated the wilderness of 
Lake Superior than another product came into immediate de- 
mand. Far as the eye could cast its searching glance, or the 
traveler penetrate the dark forests of Michigan, of Wisconsin, 
or of Canada, there rose the tall, slim trunks, and deep-green 
foliage of the pine. Here was material in which the people 
south and west were deficient. The pines of the Alleghany 
and the Susquehanna had begun to diminish. Their stock would 
soon be gone, while here stretched away hundreds and thousands 
of miles of pine-forest. Very soon, as the settlements began to 
increase in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, powerful steam- 
engines were erected on the Saginaw, the Sable, Traverse Bay, 



MACKINAC CITY. 



169 



La Crosse River, St. Peter's, and throughout the pine region, 
creating at once an immense trade in pine lumber. The great 
center of the pineries at this time is in the lower peninsula of 
Michigan, south of Old Mackinaw. This lumber region is one 
of the wonders of our country, and it is supposed that Michigan 
is the greatest lumber region of the world. Here are not only 
interminable forests of choice pine, but water outlets on every 
side. At the northern extremity are the Straits of Mackinaw ; 
at the east, Saginaw and Sable ; at the west is Traverse Bay, the 
Muskegon, and Grand River ; while to the south is the northern 
outlet of Lake Erie. On every side, lakes and rivers are ready to 
transport the products of Michigan, which enjoys every advan- 
tage which belongs to the northern temperate zone. As this im- 
mense production, this flow inward of the growing population, 
this growth of industry, goes on, there will finally arise a great 
commercial city on the straits. Before we speak of this, let us 
glance at the commerce of the Lakes which has grown already 
out of this recent development of mines and fisheries and 
pineries. Even the people of the United States, accustomed to 
the rapid growth of their own country, have scarcely been able 
to realize that of this lake commerce. 

" But a very few years since, scarcely a single steamer pro- 
ceeded beyond Detroit, and not five years since the newspapers 
announced as an extraordinary event the annual voyage of a 
passenger-vessel to the upper end of Lake Superior. Recently, 
however, the canal round the Sault of St. Mary has been com- 
pleted, and this has given a great impetus to the navigation of 
Lake Superior. In 1854, but two steamboats and five sail-ves- 
sels reached Superior City. In 1856, two years after, forty 
steamers and sixteen sail-vessels reached that port. Now, hun- 
dreds of vessels navigate that lake from one extremity to the 
other. What the commerce of this great northern lake will be ^ 
may be judged by the startling facts, that there are now six-. 
teen hundred vessels navigating the North-western lakes, 
manned by thirteen thousand seamen, and trading with ports 
on five thousand miles of lake and river coasts. The exports 



'/O OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



and imports amount to hundreds of millions in value, and are 
still increasing at a most rapid rate. Since the continuation of 
the canal round the Sault of St. Mary, the annual value of ex- 
ports and imports which pass through the Straits of Mackinaw 
IS estimated at one hundred millions of dollars; and this com- 
merce of the great lake will flow on till it exceeds that of the 
Caspian or the Black Sea, till its shores shall be lined with 
cities, and the story of Marquette, and the victory of Pontiac 
become the classic legends of marveling boyhood. With these 
facts before us, it is no surprise to find that, while the imme- 
diate country around Old Mackinaw is yet a wilderness, an en- 
terprising gentleman has laid out a city on the site of 'Old 
Mackinaw.' There was one laid out years before at the upper 
end of Lake Superior, and is now a large town, growing with 
great rapidity. At the Straits of Mackinaw, as well as the upper 
end of Lake Superior, there must be large cities to supply the 
demands of commerce. It is not a matter of speculation, but a 
necessity of nature. The same necessity has already created Brcffalo, 
Toledo, Detroit, Chicago, and St. Louis. The demand for such 
towns on the shores of Lakes Huron and Superior, and especially 
at the Straits of Mackinaw, whose bay and Lake Michigan flow 
together, are obviously far greater than those which have already 
caused the growth of Buffalo and Chicago. They have grown to 
supply the commerce of comparatively limited districts One 
means of testing this, is to apply radial lines to the site of any 
city existent or proposed, so as to include what naturally belongs 
to them, and thus compare them with one another. The radial 
Itnes of New York and Philadelphia extend across the ocean to 
Europe on one hand, and across the mountains to the valley of 
the Mississippi on the other. In looking to this fact, we are no 
longer surprised that New York has its millions of inhabitants 
and Philadelphia its six hundred thousand. 

"If we look to the radial lines of Chicago, we find that 
they are limited on the south by the competition of St Louis 
and on the north by Milwaukee. Yet Chicago, at the southerrl 
end of Lake Michigan, has risen to be a large city by a sudden 



MACKINAC CITY. 171 



and extraordinary growth, arising from the rich though Hmited 
country about it. Apply these radial lines to Mackinaw, and 
we find that they naturally include all of Michigan, a large part 
of Wisconsin, and a large part of Canada West ; but in reference 
to water navigation, no interior site i?t America is equal to that of 
Mackinaw. Here concentrate the fiavigation of eighty thousand 
quare miles of water surface, which has no comtnon center but that 
if the Straits of Mackinaw. Two facts must be observed : That 
a commercial point which concentrates the trade of Lakes Su- 
perior and Michigan must lie within the circuit of their coasts ; 
but there is no such point but Mackitiaw. The other is, that the 
point of commerce which offers the shortest distance, and there- 
fore the cheapest, to the great markets of the Atlantic, will be 
preferred. Mackinaw is five hundred miles nearer to Buffalo 
than is Fond du Lac, and three hundred miles nearer than Chi- 
cago. So it is the same distance nearer to the Gulf of St. Law- 
rence, or the city of New York. It is on the south side only, 
through the peninsula of Michigan, and toward the States of In- 
diana and Ohio, that the position of Mackinaw seems deficient 
in communications. But we no sooner see this than we see also 
two great lines of railroad progressing from the south through 
the peninsula, toward Mackinaw. The one passes on the west 
side from Fort Wayne (Indiana), through Grand Rapids and 
Traverse Bay. The other through Lansing and Amboy ; both 
terminating on the north at Mackinaw, and both by connection 
with Indiana and Ohio roads at Cincinnati on the south, whence 
they will soon be carried to the orange-growing shores of 
Florida. Thus may some future traveler be borne in a few 
hours from the soft air of the Southern Atlantic to the keen 
breezes of the north, and bathe his languid limbs in the clear, 
cold waters of Michigan. 

" Thus briefly have we followed the facts presented by Mr. 
Strickland, till we find ourselves again standing on the site of 
' Old Mackinaw ;' no more the single, lonely spot of civilization 
amid red warriors and Alpine forests, but just emerging to light, 
amid a wonderful growth of people, of commerce, of industry, 



1/2 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



and art. The forests still stand, scarcely broken ; but the sound 
of the advancing host, which is to level them with the ground, 
and build up the structures of civil society, can not be mistaken. 
They come with the heavy tread and confused noise of an army 
with banners. 

"The growth of the American States, as we have said, is 
from the outer to the inner circles ; from the shores of the At- 
lantic and the Pacific, from the Bay of St. Lawrence and the 
mouths of the Hudson and the Mississippi, toward the interior. 
Then we had Boston, New York, Quebec, and New Orleans, long 
before we had Pittsburg, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Chicago, 
which are the second growth when the wave flowed over the Al- 
leghanies. Again the wave is flowing from the valleys of the 
St. Lawrence, the Ohio, and the Mississippi, into the great 
central basin of the Lakes, which, lying in the very center of the 
North American Continent, are the last to receive, as they will 
ultimately concentrate, the great moving mass of humanity and 
civilization. The circles are growing narrower, and Mackinaw, 
which was the center of Indian and of missionary romance, will 
finally become one of the great centers of commercial growth 
and social progress, presenting the contrast between the soli- 
tudes of nature and the wild life of the Indian, on one hand, 
with the busy activity of modern society, its multitude of people, 
and the wonderful arts. 

"The steady, uninterrupted growth of our country, which 
no other nation can now interrupt, affords at once the moral 
evidence that what we have seen of growth and development 
in the past will be exhibited in a progressive line through the 
future till ages have passed away. We have seen from the little 
settlements at Plymouth and Jamestown their gradual growth 
inward, till cities arose along our coasts which rival the largest 
of ancient nations. We have seen them, again, extending along 
the Ohio and the Mississippi, till great towns, filled with com- 
merce and with arts, arose upon their banks. We have seen 
them enter the basin of the Lakes, till Buffalo spreads itself 
along the rapids of Niagara, till Chicago looms up in a day 



MACKINAC CITY. I73 



and St. Paul looks down from the far north-west. Why should 
not this movement continue? What should interrupt it? We 
may imagine the beautiful shores of Huron and Superior alive 
with the chariots of commerce, and gleaming with the spires 
of beautiful towns. Here, where we have stood on the site 
of 'Old Mackinaw,' beholding its world of waters, we seem to 
see, shining in the morning sun, some metropolis of the lakes, 
some Byzantium, presiding over the seas which lave its shores. 
Here, perhaps, in those bright days of triumphant civilization, 
some pilgrim student may inquire for the grave of Marquette, 
may read the story of Pontiac, and lament the woes of that 
wild nation who once frequented the shores of Huron, and 
sung their last songs round the ' Pequod'e'non'ge ' of the Indian, 
the Mackinaw of the whites." 



^DDENi:)^. 



For the third time we send forth this Uttle vol- 
urae to the world in the hope that it may edify and 
instruct those who are curious to know more about 
the Mackinac region. 

At considerable expense we have added a number 
of views of various points of interest upon the 
Island. Arch and Sugar Loaf Eocks are duphcated. 
The smaller views of these rocks are from pencil- 
ings, while the larger are from actual photographs. 
Both are good. Sugar Loaf Kock is shown from 
two different points of observation, thus giving the 
reader a better idea of that wonderful rock than he 
could otherwise obtain. 

Since this volume was first pubhshed and stereo- 
typed, many improvements and changes have been 
made about the Island. The old agency building, 
described on page 128, and in which the author 
Uved while preparing this work, has been burned 
down. Several fine new residences have been put 
up in different parts of the village, and the whole 
Island considerably improved. 

Facihties for reaching the Island are also greatly 
improved. At one time during our stay upon the 
Island we were seven long weeks without a mail 



ADDENDA. 

from the outside world ; now, during the Summer 
season, a letter dropped into the post-office at Grand 
Eapids in the evening reaches Mackinac at noon the 
next day. This wonderful improvement has been 
brought about by the completion of the Grand 
Rapids and Indiana Raihoad to Petoskey. This 
hne of road is now one of the best in the country ; 
the track is smooth and the management excellent. 

From Petoskey to Mackinac the company runs a 
hne of splendid steamers. This trip is most dehght- 
ful and interesting, as it brings the tourist within 
sight of so many points of historic interest. We 
understand that this company proposes'to extend 
the hne of their road from Petoskey to Mackinac 
at no distant day. 

Those who hke " much water " may still take the 
old routes from Detroit or Chicago by steamer and 
reach the Island by a sail of from thirty-six to forty- 
eight hours. 



